130 likes | 277 Views
THE EUROPEAN FIRE ACADEMY. Achievements & Outlook Ren é Hagen E Ф A Vice President 11 September 2008. What we are. E Ф A is : an informal platform for those interested in fire services and catastrophe management – an “Academy” the exchange of be st practices
E N D
THE EUROPEAN FIRE ACADEMY Achievements & Outlook René Hagen EФA Vice President 11 September 2008 www.europeanfireacademy.eu
What we are EФA is: • an informal platform for those interested in fire services and catastrophe management – an “Academy” • the exchange of best practices • the expert body for fire safety issues www.europeanfireacademy.eu
Informal platform Since 2005: • 7 Roundtables • 49 different organisations • Over 40 participants Dialogue with • European Commission • European Parliament • Burn victims associations • Technology partners • Academics • Media Website: www.europeanfireacademy.eu 1st Roundtable - Brussels 2nd Roundtable - Hanover 4th Roundtable - Brussels 3rd Roundtable - Arnhem 6th Roundtable - Paris 5th Roundtable - Budapest www.europeanfireacademy.eu
2. Best practices • EФA is the forum to exchange best practices and lessons learned Examples: • Communication in communities - Merseyside / London Fire Brigade • Fatal fires such as in Paris hotels (FR) and in the Schiphol detention centre (NL) • The challenges of European co-operation: Fighting forest fires Greece – Budapest Fire Brigade www.europeanfireacademy.eu
Merseyside / London • Fire safety within the community • Similar initiatives in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Amersfoort) www.europeanfireacademy.eu
Fatal hotel fire & attacks on services in Paris Paris “hotel” fire – 16 April 2005: • Fire killed 22 people, 10 children, 53 injuries • Most of the inhabitants were immigrants, social housing Lessons learned: • Importance of safe social housing • Need of efficient communication with vulnerables (children, immigrants) Paris riots – 2005 / 2007 • Attacks on firemen and stations Lessons learned: • New challenge for fire services • Need to upgrade protection of men and stations www.europeanfireacademy.eu
Schiphol detention centre burn – NL Schiphol detention centre burn 27 October 2005: • 11 fatalities, 15 injured • Report of the independent Dutch Safety Board: • unsafe detention conditions • inadequate implementation of safety recommendations • insufficient training on the part of the guards • inadequate intervention upon discovery of the fire Lessons learned: • Focus on fire safety in prisons • Attention for content (bedding) www.europeanfireacademy.eu
European Cooperation – Budapest Fire Brigade Forest Fires Greece, August 2007: • State of emergency; Athens asking for international help • Budapest fire brigade dispatches team • Team to assist on island of Evia: • Find origin and contain fire • Highly challenging conditions • Monitor extinguished areas Lessons learned: • Equipment not compatible • Lack of continuous water supply www.europeanfireacademy.eu
3. Expert body EФA offers expertise to third parties: • DG Enterprise request for data regarding fires resulting from electrical applications • EФA keen to provide input to collection of EU fire statistics • EФA members support initiatives to improve of fire safety of consumer products www.europeanfireacademy.eu
Why working groups? • New format due to significant increase in participants – allow & stimulate discussion • 3 Working groups (presentations, discussion, results) • Statistics • Domestic & hotel fire prevention • Communication to consumers & vulnerables • Presentation on Friday (reporting back, discussion, next steps): • Clear objectives • Concrete actions moving forward www.europeanfireacademy.eu
What we want to achieve today & tomorrow Working groups to present specific objectives & concrete actions: • Statistics: How can we realistically acquire reliable data? • Domestic & hotel fire prevention: How can we improve fire prevention? • Communication to consumers & vulnerables: How can we upgrade communications? For your discussions: • How can we support the European Commission? • Should we include the “effects of climate change on our duties” as a 4th priority? • How can we attract new members from southern Europe? www.europeanfireacademy.eu
What we have done since Paris • We have presented EФA to Meglena Kuneva, European Commissioner for Consumer Protection • We have established close dialogue with DG SANCO • We are invited to meet with Arlene McCarthy Chair of the Consumer Affairs Committee of the European Parliament in October • We have supported ACFSE in • TV burn demonstration in The Hague in April • UF burn demonstration in Delft in June • We have introduced visiting programmes • We have had regular contact amongst ourselves www.europeanfireacademy.eu
THE EUROPEAN FIRE ACADEMY Achievements & Outlook René Hagen EФA Vice President 11 September 2008 www.europeanfireacademy.eu