Following the successful organisation of the 3-day workshop on Integrated Fire Management in Cyprus between 14-16th of October, a European University Cyprus – CERIDES delegation travelled to France on the 21st of October for the 7th Staff Exchange Twinning Visit of SEMEDFIRE.
Under the Work Package 6 tasks, the French Advanced Partners General Direction of Civil Protection and Crisis Management (DGSCGC) of the Ministry of Interior and Nîmes Métropole organised a mini “Tour de France” in Civil Protection and Fire Management, to showcase the country’s longstanding approach and best practices.
The visit kicked-off in Paris, where the EUC-CERIDES team had the opportunity to visit the Inter-ministerial Operational Centre for Crisis Management (COGIC) and the Inter-ministerial Crisis Management Centre (CIC). During the visit, high ranking representatives of the Ministry of Interior explained to SEMEDFIRE project teams the procedures of decision making in crisis management at the national level in France.
During the 2nd day of the exchange visit, the EUC-CERIDES team was hosted at the administration offices of DGSCGC at the Garance building in Paris. A presentation from the Strategy and Prospective Unit (Mission de la stratégie et de la prospective – M.S.P.) about the use of technology and innovation in Civil Security was held during the first part of the morning session. During the second part, a lessons learned presentation from the Unit of Rescuers and Firefighters of the Gironde region in France (SDIS33), showcased to the SEMEDFIRE project teams the actions of the local authorities during France’s unprecedented summer of wildfires in 2022.
The 3rd day of the exchange visit found the project teams of DGSGCG, Nimes Metropole and EUC-CERIDES in Aix-en-Provence in the South of France. During the day-long visit, the teams spent valuable time with the management teams of the French National Fire Officers Academy (Ecole nationale supérieure des officiers de sapeurs-pompiers – ENSOSP) and of the ENTENTE-VALABRE Center for professional training in Civil Security, Research, New Technologies and Prevention in the field of natural risks. The project teams had the opportunity to join real-time training sessions for officers, proffessional and volunteer firefighters at the ENSOSP and ENTENTE-VALABRE facilities, in an effort to exchange good practices and experience with the trainers and trainees. They also had the opportunity for a closer and unique look at the testing facilities of ENTENTE-VALABRE for fire-fighting trucks, firefighters’ equipment and suits and fire retardant testing and scientific analysis.
The exchange visit’s final part took place in Nimes and at the newly built B46 building at the airport of Nimes. Nimes Metropole organised a morning session with presentations and knowledge exchange discussions from the:
- Unit of Firefighters and Rescuers of the Gard Department (SDIS30)
- Nimes University
- the Commune of Generac for its response during and after the unprecedented fires in 2019
- the Aerospace Valley Cluster
and a thorough presentation of the Euro-Mediterranean Hub for Civil Protection Expertise “Hub.46” currently under creation at the B46 building.
The last day of the exchange visit closed with an impressive presentation by the Head of the Aircraft Unit at the Nimes Airport Base of Civil Security and an up-and-close walk-through of the firefighting aircrafts stationed at the base.
The next task for the Work Package 6 is the visit of the French Advanced Partners to Cyprus, for the implementation of the last Staff Exchange Visit of the project during the Nicosia Risk Forum 2024 organised by EUC-CERIDES in Larnaka.
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