Partners meet in Vlissingen

On 23 January the MIRG partners met at the Beach Guard Station in Vlissingen, The Netherlands.

Since the last meeting much progress has been made. The working group recruitment finished its work. All the partners have selected their teams or are in the final phase of the selection procedure. All partners have started or are on the verge of starting a tender procedure for the required equipment. The partners agreed upon the concept Standard Operation Procedures. Formalisation of these procedures will be one of the next steps. The coming months the partners will further develop the training en exercise programme so the new MIRGs can start their training this spring.

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.