CALAIS FIRE EN RESCUE SERVICE

Every department in France has a specialised public body for Fire and Rescue Services: the SDIS. It consists of a fire fighting unit (professional as well as voluntary) and an administrative and technical staff. The mission of the SDIS concentrates on three main functions: Operations, Preparation and Prevention. They evaluate and prevent all risks for civil security, like accidents, damage and technological and natural hazards. They prepare protective measures and organise special equipment. They fight fires of any kind, offer emergency aid in general and protect persons, belongings and the environment.

In the department of Pas-de-Calais (62) 1100 professional fire fighters, 3200 volunteers and 250 administrative and technical staff are stationed at 48 Fire and Rescue Service Centres (CIS), 3 defence groups and a departmental governance are situated in St-Laurent-Blangy, close to Arras.

www.sdis62.fr

MIRG EX is an international joint partnership. Safety Region Zeeland (NL), which brings together crisis management, fire fighters and medical assistance, is lead partner. The other partners in the project are: the Fire Brigades of Antwerp, Beveren and Ghent (BE). These brigades are linked to important international ports, that accommodate large chemical production plants. Being able to effectively fight fires on board ships is simply essential. In addition to the fire brigades, the Federal Organisation of Public Civil Assistance in Brugge, the Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services-Shipping Assistance Division and the Maatschappij van de Brugse Zeehaven nv (Zeebrugge Port Authority) are partners in the MIRG-EX project. The French Service départemental d’incendie et de secours de Pas-de-Calais and the English Kent Fire and Rescue Service complete the partnership. Both are confronted with heavy traffic on the Channel and the North Sea. An incident may be just around the corner, but this doesn’t mean it can be easily reached let alone be dealt with. Working with similar teams on both shores, reduces will help to reduce response time.