The Lazio Region’s forest firefighting campaign starts tomorrow, June 15th. This year it will last one month longer than previous years and will end on October 15thas required by the Civil Protection Department.
Yesterday afternoon the annual agreement was signed between the Ministry of the Interior (Department of Fire Brigade, Public Rescue and Civil Defense Regional Directorate of Fire Brigade for Lazio), the Lazio Region (Regional emergency management, civil protection and NUE 112) and the Prefect of Rome, Lamberto Gianninirepresenting all the Prefectures of the provinces of the region.
The protocol provides the strengthening of the regional civil protection system, the active fight against forest fires, the intervention in the event of natural and anthropic events in the regional territory, the training of volunteer staff and other activities aimed at mitigating the risks deriving from natural and anthropic disasters.
For the 2024 forest fire campaign the Lazio Region has allocated 7,950,000 eurosas envisaged by the latest regional plan for forecasting, prevention and active fight against forest fires approved last year for the three-year period 2023-2025, with which a total of almost 20 million euros were allocated (7 more than the previous plan) .
In particular, the sums allocated for this year are divided as follows:
- Beyond 3,800,000 for the forest firefighting air service
- 2,850,000 for the agreement with the fire brigade
- 300,000 for the Convention with the Carabinieri for forest protection
- About 1,000,000 for the long-term rental of AIB operational vehicles
The entire regional territory, for the period of maximum risk of forest fire, is to be considered a “risk area”.
The regional device will be composed of:
- 500 operational Volunteer Organizations, with AIB specialization;
- 4,200 operational volunteers with AIB specialization;
- 300 pick ups with fire prevention module;
- 67 tankers;
- 120 multipurpose vehicles with fire prevention module;
- 105 remotely piloted vehicles (drones);
- 100 pilots with certification for APR vehicles (drones);
- 1 twin-engine rotary blade aircraft (helicopter) for populated areas and islands
- 6 single-engine rotary blade aircraft (helicopter) for non-anthropic areas (islands after the assembly of the floats).
The agreement signed yesterday provides for the strengthening of the presence in some areas, among which: La Cacciuta, Cerveteri, Pomezia, Montelibretti, Fiumicino, Palestrina, Tivoli, Velletri, Frosinone, Sezze, Fondi, Sabaudia, Ponza, Viterbo and Borgo S. Pietro di Petrella Salto.
The presence of operators from the Operations Room of the Regional Emergency, Civil Protection and NUE 112 Directorate will then be strengthened and plans will be developed for carrying out training activities for the benefit of civil protection volunteers through operational exercises which will see the participation of the personnel of the fire fighters.
