www.europeanfireacademy.eu

THE EUROPEAN FIRE ACADEMY

Achievements & Outlook

René HagenEФA Vice President

11 September 2008

www.europeanfireacademy.eu

What we are

EФA is:

1. an informal platform for those interested in fire services and catastrophe management – an “Academy”

2. the exchange of best practices

3. the expert body for fire safety issues

www.europeanfireacademy.eu

3rd Roundtable - Arnhem

2nd Roundtable - Hanover

1. Informal platformSince 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

4th Roundtable - Brussels

5th Roundtable - Budapest

6th Roundtable - Paris

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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

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Merseyside / London

• Fire safety within the community

• Similar initiatives in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Amersfoort)

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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

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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

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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

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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?

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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 HagenEФA Vice President

11 September 2008