MIRG EU Large Scale Exercise

One of the objectives of the MIRG EU Project is to deliver a large scale exercise to demonstrate the progress and achievements of the Group which is scheduled to take place in June 2014 using a vessel located ‘at sea’.

Aims and objectives

The exercise has clearly defined aims and objectives which are: test the compliance of each partner with the MIRG EU SOP’s for Tasking, Deployment & Transportation, Nominal Roll, Communications and ICS. Test the strategic, tactical and operational level of cooperation between partners responding to a fire on a vessel at sea. Deploy teams from each partner state onto a vessel at sea. And carry out a formal debrief for all partners to share areas of best practice and capture lessons learned.

The exercise will be delivered as one continuous event consisting of a number of modules giving each partner the opportunity to satisfy the required aims & objectives. As each Partner assumes command of the exercise a new scenario will be introduced for them to deal with. As part of the build-up to the exercise each partner will have to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of their local tasking arrangements and also the agreed EU MIRG Incident Command System.

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.