More than 6 million euro from Norway Grants for making disaster response more effective

Published: Friday, 4 Oct 2024

Training  by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations for a rescue mission in  difficult conditions.

Training by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations for a rescue mission in difficult conditions.

In a world marked by increasingly complex risks and security threats, adequate training and rapid response by emergency forces are essential to protect lives and property.

For this reason, the project "Resilience - Increasing disaster resilience by improving training for search and rescue and unexploded ordnance clearance" aimed to significantly improve the training and capacity of Romania’s intervention forces, especially in the field of search and rescue and unexploded ordnance clearance.

Project supported by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism

With a budget of over 6 million euro and an implementation duration of 60 months, the project was supported by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 under the Home Affairs Program, and was implemented by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) together with the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Gendarmerie and the Directorate for Civil Protection in Norway.

"There are significant challenges both in Romania and abroad. We have observed numerous situations that require rapid and effective interventions, such as collective accidents, complex fires and other categories of major risks. These incidents underline the critical need for training and intervention by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations. For these reasons, the need arose to implement this project, which aims to improve the IGSU`s emergency response and management capacity." explained Dr. Raed Arafat, Secretary of State, Head of the Department for Emergency Situations - Ministry of Interior.

Early intervention is decisive in a rescue  mission.

Early intervention is decisive in a rescue mission.

Under the project, a center of excellence in the preparation and training of intervention forces was developed in Ciolpani, benefiting from state-of-the-art resources and equipment for realistic simulations and effective training. It also focused on the intensive training of personnel from the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Gendarmerie.

"The idea of this project started more than 17 years ago, as a result of the diversification of the type of missions that the Inspectorates for Emergency Situations carry out. Basically, our training systems were underdeveloped compared to the needs of search and rescue and unexploded ordnance clearance. The most important need was the construction of a dedicated training range, which would help us to participate and successfully complete both Romanian and international missions", said Ionel Dinu, Captain of IGSU.

Specialized trainers within the Centre of Excellence were trained in Norway, where they benefited from best practices and techniques in search and rescue and, in turn, became responsible for the further training and education of intervention personnel, ensuring a rapid and efficient response in emergency situations. Staff also took part in pyrotechnics, given the danger posed by unexploded ordnance in areas affected by conflict or disaster.

The training of the officers took place under  the supervision of Norwegian partners.

The training of the officers took place under the supervision of Norwegian partners.

Through this project, several objectives were pursued and materialized, including the intensive training of personnel in search-rescue and unexploded ordnance clearance actions, including trainers who will be responsible for further training of IGSU personnel.
The intervention forces have also been adequately equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and technologies necessary to deal with emergency situations.

Hundreds of officers have been trained and specialized

The results are noticeable, considering that a training facility in the field of search-rescue and unexploded ordnance clearance was provided, consisting of a pyrotechnic range, a search-rescue range, including a training tower, an action command point and an administrative building (with accommodation facilities and classrooms for organizing courses).

Human resources also benefited from this intervention, so that eight Romanian trainers were trained by Norwegian experts. Then, specialized trainers trained 30 officers of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Gendarmerie and 120 officers of the IGSU in search and rescue and unexploded ordnance disposal, while 160 IGSU officers were trained in search and rescue.

"The Resilience project has meant an improvement in ISU’s training facilities that help us to be better in our interventions. We make full use of these facilities in the training carried out both at county ISU and IGSU level. The exchanges of experience with Norwegian partners and the enrichment of the curriculum have also played an essential role in developing new skills in our work", said Cucu Bogdan Bogdan, Search and Rescue Detachment Commander and Squad Leader in the RO USAR team.

Rescuers can now train under special  conditions.

Rescuers can now train under special conditions.

The initiative was made possible thanks to the close collaboration between the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of Romania and the Directorate for Civil Protection of Norway. These organizations put together their expertise and essential resources for the effective implementation of the project and the achievement of the proposed objectives.

The "Resilience - Increasing disaster resilience by improving preparedness for search and rescue and unexploded explosive ordnance disposal" project was a key initiative to strengthen the response capacity and reduce the risks in the face of disasters and security threats.
By investing in training, equipment and infrastructure, this project has proven its potential to save lives and contribute to the safety and protection of communities from natural disasters and other emergencies.

A new bilateral initiative started in early 2024

The international missions of technical assistance in case of disasters and emergencies, in which Romanian rescuers also participated, have once again demonstrated the importance and role of continuous training and exchange of best practices for personnel involved in search and rescue activities.
Thus, Resilience has paved the way for a new collaboration between the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection, which aims to train 80 firefighters from Romania and Norway to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to manage emergencies as efficiently as possible, both nationally and internationally. This time the initiative is financed by the Bilateral Relations Fund 2014-2021.

The EEA and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Kingdom of Norway to reducing economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area and to strengthening bilateral relations with the 15 beneficiary countries in Eastern and Southern Europe and the Baltic States. These funding mechanisms are established on the basis of the European Economic Area Agreement, which brings together the EU Member States and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as equal partners in the internal market. In total, the three countries have contributed 3.3 billion euro between 1994 and 2014 and 2.8 billion euro for the 2014-2021 funding period.

Further details cand be found on: www.eeagrants.ro and www.eeagrants.org.