Romanian firefighters intervened on Wednesday to extinguish a wildfire in the Toulouges area, as part of their pre-positioning mission in France, having deployed three fire engines equipped for extinguishing wildfires and supplying water to intervention units.

„Earlier in the day, following a risk analysis conducted by the French authorities during the daily operational briefing, it was decided to reposition the RO GFFF-V module near the town of Palau-del-Vidre, in an area with a high fire risk. Later in the afternoon, the Romanian crews were moved to SDIS Perpignan West (Service Départemental d’Incendie et de Secours des Pyrénées-Orientales) to shorten response times in case of emergencies that might threaten local communities,” the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations (IGSU) informed in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday.

Around 17:00, the Romanian teams were dispatched to extinguish a vegetation and forest fire that had broken out between Chem. des Bassettes street and the Basse river.

The intervention was carried out jointly with French teams, covering an area of approximately 3 hectares. Romanian firefighters deployed three fire engines for firefighting and water supply, supporting both the Romanian and French modules on the ground.

„In addition to the firefighting operation, yesterday was marked by logistical efforts, including the integration of the Romanian module into the local radio communication system to enable effective coordination of joint missions,” the press release reads.

Training sessions were also held, covering proper gear use for forest fire interventions, radio equipment handling, and applying protection protocols in critical situations where evacuation is not possible.

According to Thursday’s fire risk forecast, the risk of forest fires in the Pyrénées-Orientales department is moderate. Therefore, the Romanian national module will be deployed in strategic locations to ensure a rapid and effective response in the event of a wildfire.

All missions are conducted under the direct coordination of a French liaison officer and aim to limit fire spread toward inhabited areas and maintain a protective buffer zone between the fire front and unaffected land.

AGERPRES