Promotion of NAMIRG at the European Parliament

On 10 December, the final promotional event of the NAMIRG project took place at the European Parliament. The team met with Members of the European Parliament, Representatives from the European Commission’s Directorate General for EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO), and representatives from the Permanent Delegations of Slovenia, Croatia and Italy to the EU, to present the outcomes of the project.

The partnership has successfully elaborated a personnel training manual, a handbook on standard operating procedures (SOP) for preparing the NAMIRG squad and define the operations to follow in the event of a fire at sea and guidelines for materials and devices necessary for the NAMIRG team during helicopter transfer and fire-fighting operations.

Moreover, the squad of 27 firefighters has followed several courses and trainings in Trieste, Rovinj, Ljubljana, Pavia, La Spezia, Split, (namely Hot Fire, Sea Survival, Helicopter Underwater Escape, and Helo), carried out four on-board fire-fighting simulation and exchanged experiences with other international MIRG teams from the Netherlands and Finland.

The host of the event, MEP Valter Flego praised NAMIRG for “bringing together people horizontally and vertically from local, national and international level“. The head of Civil Protection Policy from DG ECHO, Julia Stewart-David congratulated NAMIRG for being a good example of a project that opens doors for more cooperation after having successfully carried out its activities.

The event has given the opportunity to our project leaders and firefighter brigades to explain how the project was developed, the difficulties encountered and how they managed to put into place a specially trained and equipped team of firefighters who can now be transported on board of a helicopter to ships on fire at sea to bring humanitarian aid.

The Secretary General of the CEI-ES, Roberto Antonione, warmly thanked all partners and stakeholders who have been involved in this project and have made it possible. NAMIRG has paved the way for more cooperation in this area and aims for other countries to join the team in the future. As Asta Mackieviciute from DG ECHO, who has been following NAMIRG achievements since its beginning said, “Our firefighters have experienced the group mechanism spirit by exercising together and it is important to remain a regional capacity and always get further training supported by the EU Institutions”.

NAMIRG: final exercise at sea successfully performed in Pula, Croatia

On 22 November, the final exercise at sea of the NAMIRG project took place in the Port of Pula, Croatia.

Over the past two years, the team of 27 firefighters from the fire brigades of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (Italy), Koper (Slovenia) and the Istria County (Croatia), has followed several courses and training in Trieste, Rovinj, Ljubljana, Pavia, La Spezia, Split, (namely Hot Fire, Sea Survival, Helicopter Underwater Escape, and Helo), carried out four on-board fire-fighting simulations and exchanged experiences with other international Maritime Incident Response Group - MIRG teams from the Netherlands and Finland.

The final exercise, which consisted of the rescue of a ship following a simulated fire incident, was an opportunity to showcase what had been achieved during the lifetime of the project, paving the way for more transnational cooperation and efficient emergency response to incidents on-board at sea. The rescue exercise included the intervention of two tugs, a support motorboat and a helicopter that loaded the wounded of the simulation on board. A difficult maneuver that was perfectly executed as highlighted by representatives from the MIRG teams of The Netherlands and Finland.

The operation was attended, among others, by Croatian Minister of Internal Affairs, Davor Bozinovic; Asta Mackeviciute from the European Commission; CEI Secretary General, Roberto Antonione and CEI Deputy Secretary General, Nina Kodelja;  Trieste government commissioner, Valerio Valenti; acting president of the Istrian Region, Fabrizio Radin; Mayor of Pula, Boris Miletic; Regional Director of Friuli Venezia Giulia of the Fire Brigade, Eros Mannino, Maritime Director and Commander of the Port of Trieste,  Admiral Luca Sancilio, as well as by Regional Councilor for Security and Immigration Policy, Pierpaolo Roberti.

The operation lasted for about an hour and ended with the deployment, from the helicopter, of a single flag with the three flags of the partner countries, the European flag and the CEI logo printed on it.

The exercise marked the end of the two-year project NAMIRG aimed at creating the first transnational system for efficient emergency response at sea. The project was co-financed by the European Commission Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, and coordinated by the Central European Initiative - Executive Secretariat (CEI-ES).

CEI Secretary General Roberto Antonione called for other countries facing the Adriatic coast to join the NAMIRG team in the future.

More pictures of the Exercise can be found on the project's facebook page and on the blog https://northadriaticmirg.blogspot.com

Test of new bridging automatic digital radio on board of ship

On 8 November, our team was on board of a turkish ferry to test a new system of automatic digital radio to communicate inside a ship, managing to speak from the double tanks to the command bridge. The tests will continue on other types of ships to verify the functioning of the system in all kind of conditions.

NAMIRG Helicopter training in Divulje, Croatia Part II

Our Namirg team has finalised its life-saving exercise on board of a helicopter in Croatia (from 4 to 7 november) and the results were very promising. 

Looking forward to our final simulation on 22 November in Pula!

NAMIRG Helicopter training in Divulje, Croatia

From 14 to 17 October a first part of our NAMIRG squad of fire-fighters from the Italian, Slovenian and Croatian brigades trained on board of the helicopter of the Croatian army to prepare for the final exercise, a simulation of a fire incident on a ship, which will take place at the end of November in the basin of the Istrian county nearby Pula.

Coordination meeting with the Regional Director

Morning of work yesterday at the Provincial Fire Brigade Command  in Trieste with the presence of the Regional Director Mr. Mannino, the Provincial Commanders of Trieste, Udine, Gorizia and Pordenone as well as the Croatian and Slovenian project partners. The work was aimed at sharing the results achieved so far as well as to plan in detail the project activities for the next six months.

Training with the Croatian's army helicopter

At the Campanoz sports airport near Pula, the annual exercise (held in all Croatian regions) of the Istrian fire brigade has recently been held with the helicopter of the Croatian army.
The firefighters from Koper and FVG region as well as the NAMIRG Lead Partner Central European Initiative - CEI were also present as observers, it has been an amazing experience !

LIVEX 2019

On May 25, 2019 a large-scale exercise was organized in Rotterdam, simulating a fire aboard a passenger ferry, to test the effectiveness of the national response device.
When the P&O "Pride of Hull" ferry, with about 500 passengers on board, makes a request for rescue by fire on board, the Coast Guard immediately activates the entire response mechanism provided in these cases and therefore also the MIRG.NL team
2 SAR helicopters start shuttling to transport the MIRG team aboard, taking the ship. As soon as they arrive on board the operators begin to put their SOPs into practice, collaborating with the crew on board in an attempt to contain the fire.
In the simulation the operations of containment of the fire do not give the desired results and then the evacuation of the passengers has been decided, using the means of rescue of the ship and the military helicopters and of the Coast Guard.
The situation worsens again and it has been therefore decided to evacuate the MIRG team as well.
This happened on the ship, while the entire emergency management took place on land, involving the Coast Guard and Safety Region operating rooms, the volunteers of the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution KNRM, the police, the military and all the bodies and the authorities involved in such a large accident. Such a complex exercise is scheduled every 5 years in the Netherlands. MIRG experts from various nations took part in the exercise, thus being able to verify the differences and similarities of the various systems in view of a possible common operational future.

on the NORDLOTUS SHIP !

The NAMIRG team had the opportunity to participate in one of the exercises that the Trieste Maritime Directorate periodically organizes, and more precisely the one on the NORDLOTUS ship of last 7 May.
The exercise saw the involvement of all the bodies / authorities that could be interested in a fire of a ship in the gulf.
The exercise involved the collision of a RO-RO vessel, with the rudder damaged, with an oil tanker anchored in the roadstead, with a gash from a cistern, spill of about 50 m3 of crude oil into the sea and onto the deck of the ship, and subsequent fire .
Due to this collision 2 people were in the water and another 2 were missing in the technical rooms at the bow of the ship, blocked by the fire.
After having put in place all the procedures foreseen for this type of accident, the edge, given the impossibility of controlling the fire, asked for help from the Harbor Master's Office, which immediately activated to get the relief.
The fire response device was composed of 2 NAMIRG teams, each with 6 people, and a team from the VVF Command of Trieste, which were placed on RAFF 07 present at the nautical detachment and on a tug and a patrol boat of the CP, made available from the local Maritime Directorate.
The rest of the NAMIRG staff embarked on a second tugboat which participated in firefighting operations, thus being able to observe the exercise closely.
It was the first time that an Operation Commander has planned the operations of the NAMIRG team together with the on-board command, implementing what has been described in the Standard Operating Procedures, highlighting some small defects, but confirming the goodness of the general plant.
The operations involved the crew on board with the rescuers who had come to their aid, in the search and recovery of the missing.
The difficulties that we wanted to test are the transfer by boat / ladder on the ship and communications.
The first problem is difficult to resolve, so much so that some MIRG teams do not even consider this type of approach to the unsafe ship, while for communications it will be important to optimize traffic management.
... now we can't wait to check air transport ...!!!

Meeting with the Commander of Civil protection of Slovenia

A meeting with Mr Sre?ko Šestan (Commander of Civil Protection of Slovenia) and Mr Rok Kamenšek (deputy commander of the Civil Protection of the Koper region) was recently held to evaluate the opportunity to use the Slovenian army helicopters during the exercises of the Namirg operators.

We trust that this opportunity will become feasible to give even greater value to the entire project!

Sea Suvival and Helodunker trainings in Pavia

VIKING DIVING SUITS TEST AT SEA

After having tried the Viking diving suits for 2 days in the swimming pool of the Apt of Pavia, at the temperature of 29 °, it was decided to carry out a test in sea water at a temperature of 10 °, to verify the degree of comfort that the same they guarantee with a temperature more similar to the real conditions of winter use.

Access with vertical and semi-vertical stairs in Pavia

On March 28th, taking advantage of the concurrent courses of Sea Survival and Helodunker, a check on the procedures agreed for entry into burned premises with vertical and semi-vertical stairs has been made n order to establish their feasibility.

This day of discussion at the ATP operational center was attended by 4 Italian naval firefighting instructors and an expert, a CFBT expert from the Command of Trento, 2 Croatian CFBT experts and a Slovenian CFBT expert 

Visit at the Helsinki City Rescue Department

The visit to the Helsinki City Rescue Department and the various structures of the Finnish Border Guard dedicated to SAR activities follows the previous visit to the Rotterdam Safety Region.

Also in this case the Namirg italian group have seen how the Finnish fire service is structured in its entirety and specifically of the MIRG team, to which one of the various stations in the metropolitan area is dedicated.
The fire brigade, like the police and the emergency room, use Finnish Border Guard helicopters to carry out interventions, both at sea and for all other needs that may arise, an example of rationalization of available resources, in order to break down expenses, based on the assumption of constant and effective collaboration between the various authorities involved. It also applies to vessels that have been designed to be multitasking and can be used, obviously in harsh environmental conditions, but also to cope with all possible types of intervention. In this regard, we had the opportunity to visit the M / V Turva, a ship of almost 100 meters in length, which constantly patrols the Baltic Sea. The choice to train firefighters as paramedics, dividing their shift in the two specializations, is always part of the optimization of available resources.
The choice to train all HCRD officers (over 20) such as MIRG Team Leader is excellent, allows to have always one officer available, given the complexity of managing an intervention at sea.

Great teachers build great NAMIRG operators!

During February and March, the professors and experts of the Italian Coast Guard, managers of Fincantieri and Lloyd's Register of Shipping supported the theoretical lessons held at the nautical detachment of the Old Port, the Koper Command and the Rovinj Command.
The possibility of dealing with professionals with decades of experience in the maritime sector as teachers has enabled to lay the cultural foundations on which to build the training of the NAMIRG operator.

NAMIRG team visit colleagues in Rotterdam

The visit to the MIRG team of the port of Rotterdam came to the end. The local staff officially welcomed our team describing the organization in the Netherlands, the Safety Region, the Standard Operating Procedures adopted and allowing a visit to the 112 room, where the firefighters, ambulances and police operators work together to effectively respond to emergencies.The visit to the two fire brigade stations then, allow the Namirg team to learn more also about the specific equipment supplied to timely respond to interventions.
(https://vr-rr.nl/extra/brons-team-vrr/mirg-nl-team/) The exchange of best practices to continue with more and more enthusiasm to work in cooperation!

HOT FIRE-Training course LAST PHASE

On the 14th and 15th of November the last phase of the Hot Fire course took place at the Training and Protection Center of the Republic of Slovenia (Izobrazevalni Center za Zascito in Reservanje RS) of IG, near Ljubljana.

The training sessions saw the participation of the NAMIRG team, engaged in a series of simulations specially designed to reproduce, as far as possible, the ship environment. The purpose of these trainings was to use fire control techniques in a compartment, also testing the communications system, especially those of the command line, the nodal point of any rescue intervention, but even more important on of a ship and with an international team.

The satisfaction shown by all the participants in this first course of the NAMIRG team, despite the considerable physical effort, in addition to being a positive sign, led to the evaluation of an increase in training activity, in order to refine operational procedures and automatisms.

HOT FIRE Training course - II Phase in Rovinj

The II phase of the Hot Fire course (CFBT) for NAMIRG team operators, held on 18 and 19 October at the Rovinj training camp (HR), put in place a series of practical smoke control exercises of a fire inside a container, with relative homogenization of the operating procedures of the 3 countries participating in the project.

In addition to the exercises, the operators were able to attend a practical demonstration (carried out using a wooden model) on how a fire  develops and propagates and concerning the phenomena related to the ignition / explosion of the fumes based on the presence or absence of oxygen.

On the second day the participation was also extended to the Slovenian and Croatian partners creating 8 teams of 3 operators each, one for each country participating in the project, who exchanged on different operating scenarios, under the command of the 3 designated Team Leaders.

This was the first occasion in which those who will constitute the NAMIRG international intervention team met and worked together, the first stage of the training program in which this situation will be repeated several times.

The MBP 1175 took part in the exercise, with its experienced crew, who illustrated and subsequently demonstrated its fire-fighting potential.

Together with the operating structures, the initiative was attended by the highest authorities of the Civil Protection and Fire Services of the Istrian and Dalmatian Region, as well as representatives of the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Police, entities involved in various capacities for future operations of the NAMIRG team.

HOT FIRE training course for the Italian Team

HOT FIRE, better known as CFBT - Compartment Fire Behavior Training- has recently concluded as the first phase of the fire fighting course, involving only the Italian team. 
During the morning the theoretical part has been illustrated, with a precise examination of the phenomena that arises when a fire develops and the dangers that may occur. The team have learnt the warning signals to be taken into consideration and which techniques should be used to face these kind of situations.
The second part of the course focused on practice: the operators were able to learn the correct use of the hollow jet in the various conditions that may arise and to progress as a team of 2 within a local.

NAMIRG project presented at 50th BARCOLANA 2018

On the occasion of the 50th Barcolana, the Provincial Command of the Fire Brigade of Trieste organizes an exhibition stand where the activities of the PCFB will be presented in the week before the spectacular and popular regatta.

The NAMIRG project will be presented on Wednesday 10th from 3 pm at the same stand. 

Fire brigades of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia sign a Transnational Operational Protocol during 2nd Steering Committee held in Trieste

On 24July, the CEI Executive Secretariat (CEI-ES) hosted the 2nd Steering Committee meeting of the NAMIRG project (North Adriatic Maritime Incident Response Group), financed by DG ECHO. The CEI-ES in its capacity as Lead Partner, introduced the project’s state-of-the-art and gave an overview of the upcoming activities and deadlines to all participants. Afterwards, the fire brigades of the three European Countries involved signed the Transnational Operational Protocol  where they agree on a common procedure to fight against sea fires and urgent technical assistance within the identified Maritime area included in the northern Adriatic.

In order to provide the most efficient response in case of on board incidents, the MIRG team is currently focusing on elaborating detailed Guidelines for materials and devices to extinguish/contain on board fires, as these interventions require special equipment to be purchased or to be shared among countries.

During the meeting, the partners also discussed the conditions the trainees and trainers needed to meet within  the national team . To this end, by the end of the summer, 24 operators making up three national teams (8 each)  will be identified and a personnel-training manual will be drafted. Partners also discussed which  important stakeholders at regional level were to be involved and finally had the chance to discuss with the Lead Partner some critical issues regarding the administrative aspects and reporting process. The next meeting is envisaged to take place in September 2019 at the CEI premises.

1st Steering Committee meeting held in Trieste

All partners and Steering Committee members met in Trieste for discussing the progress of the NAMIRG technical activities.

Currently, activities are in line with the plans and very soon the first results will be achieved: the analysis of existing and missing human and technical resources will be completed in June, as well as the guidelines for common materials and devices will be finalised; the guidelines will put the basis for purchasing the needed technical materials for setting up the transnational NAMIRG team within the end of the year.

Moreover, the discussion on the transnational protocol to be signed by the Firefighter Units is ongoing: the cooperation protocol will be signed in July, and it will be followed by an operative agreement at the end of the project.

Technical meeting in Koper

In the first months of activities, the NAMIRG partners worked on the analysis of existing and missing human and technical resources in Nothern Adriatic and explored the existing transnational and cross-border protocols between the regions Istria, Koper and Friuli Venezia Giulia, in view of amending them and/or signing the new ones for the NAMIRG establishment and functioning. The results of these activities will be discussed again during the first Steering Committee meeting, planned in Trieste for April 24th.

The NAMIRG activities are progressing very fast! While performing the analysis on the state of the art, a study group was established to define the strategies and methodologies and agree on training to be provided to the selected staff: partners met in Koper, and started discussing about the elaboration of the Handbook on Standard Operating Procedures.

NAMIRG, a cross-border model for safety in Northern Adriatic Sea, Press conference held in Trieste

The launching press conference of the NAMIRG project took place on 9 March at the CEI headquarters in Trieste. The event was attended by media representatives as well as by local authorities, inlcuding the President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Debora Serracchiani, the Mayor of the Municipality of Trieste, Roberto Di Piazza, and Commander Luca Sancilio, from the Trieste Port Authority, and by project partners.

During the press conference, the actions and the objectives of the project were presented by CEI Project Manager, Anna Marconato,  and the Regional Director of the Fire Brigade of the FVG region, Loris Munaro. Technical contributions were also provided by the chiefs of the Croatian and Slovenian fire brigades, partners of the project, and by the Project Manager of the Fire Brigade of the FVG Region, Alessandro Minelli.

As specified by the CEI Secretariat, NAMIRG represents a first pilot action that will constitute a tangible response mechanism able to involve three Member States but the objective is to be able to extend this initiative also to other countries of the Adriatic area.

NAMIRG KICK OFF MEETING held in Trieste, Italy

On January, 27th 2018 the CEI-ES hosted the Kick off meeting of the project NAMIRG, that was attended by all project partners who gathered to agree upon first steps to be made towards projects’ successful implementation. Partners’ have already reached a common understanding on the analysis of the existing protocols, procedures and equipment for fire-protection interventions. Each partner will address their national, regional or local institution to collect all available data and provide feedback for the delivery of the first report. The latter represents the basis for the NAMIRG guidelines providing concrete information on how the group will be formed, governed and how will it act. It is understood as a tool on the disposal of the three countries in case of fire incidents in the sea.
The selected staff coming from the three countries will be trained by selected experts: a Fincantieri representative on fire protection aspects, Finnish experts and some experts form other European MIRG groups. The final stage of the training will consist in the exercise at open sea, with the entire group in action.