Two hundred and forty (240) firefighters from Bulgaria, Malta, Moldova and Romania will be in our country this summer to work together with their Greek colleagues, as part of the Pre-installation Program implemented for the 3rd consecutive year through the European Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM).

The European firefighters, with staffed water-borne forest fire-fighting vehicles, will be gradually deployed in the period from the beginning of July to the middle of September in three (3) bases of operations: In Attica, Thessaloniki and Achaia.

The first mission from Bulgaria is already on Tuesday, at the operational base of Thessaloniki, where the 2nd Special Unit of Forestry Operations is based, and will be followed on July 15 by the missions from Malta (operational base of Achaia) and Moldova (operational base of Attica) .

Having proven in practice the value of European solidarity, the European Firefighter Pre-installation Program – which was implemented for the first time in Greece in the summer of 2022 – is implemented this year in an expanded manner, since there will be more countries participating in the Program by sending and receiving firefighters , as well as the forest firefighting forces.

Greece, in fact, takes part in a double capacity since, in addition to the 240 firefighters it will welcome, it already participated with a group of 25 forest commanders of the EMODE, which was deployed between June 15-30 in Southern France. It is noted that Greece “opened” the Program on 15/6 by first sending firefighters to France and will also be the one to “close” it on 15/9, when the last mission from a participating country (Romania) will be completed. In addition, the length of stay of firefighters in Greece will be longer this year, as it extends to 2.5 months, from 2 that was valid in previous years.

In total, 12 countries are participating in the Pre-installation Program of European Firefighters for this year’s firefighting season with firefighter missions: Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Estonia (for the 1st time), Italy (for the 1st time), Latvia, Malta, Moldova (for the 1st time), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia (for the 1st time) and Finland.

The above countries will provide a total of 556 firefighters, who will be deployed in Greece, France, Spain (participating for the 1st time as a host country) and Portugal, with the aim of providing assistance in dealing with forest fires, as well as the exchange of know-how.

For the needs of preparation for the implementation of the Program in Greece, two training seminars were held in the premises of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection: For the Administrative Associations and Associations of Officers of Foreign Missions on May 29-31, 2024 and for the heads of incoming teams (team leaders) on June 16-18, 2024.