ROME (ITALPRESS) – The new Capitoline fleet for the active fight against urban and rural interface fires was presented at the headquarters of the Civil Protection Department of Rome Capital in the presence of the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, the Capitoline Councilor for Agriculture, Environment and Waste Cycle Sabrina Alfonsi, the director of the civil protection of Rome Capital Giuseppe Napolitano and the director of the Environmental Protection Department, Giuseppe Sorrentino.
The new fire extinguishing means, financed with around 450 thousand euros, were strongly supported by the administration to prevent fires and will enter service, followed by the 2024 campaign against forest fires.
In recent years the firefighting fleet had only one tanker and one Civil Protection vehicle available: with this purchase comes a second multifunction Graelion vehicle plus four pick-ups with firefighting equipment. This new vehicle has a capacity of 3 thousand liters of water and is equipped with two independent cannons, assisted by control cameras and manageable with two separate joysticks directly from the driving cab, to guarantee maximum operator safety. The vehicle was conceived and designed for dynamic interventions in complex contexts, also being able to operate at night, thanks to a light tower.
As for the pick-ups, they have 400 liters available
water and are characterized by their agility and flexibility, useful for the speed of intervention which is highly effective in extinguishing actions, also thanks to the latest generation lances.
This new equipment will be in place as early as the start of the next firefighting campaign, as a sign of strengthening the alliance between volunteers and administration. All vehicles will be entrusted to the Civil Protection Volunteer Organizations affiliated with Roma Capitale.
Also of great importance was the work carried out in collaboration with the CSIMU Department for the maintenance, restoration and expansion of the hydrant network in the municipal area, for which a framework agreement financed with 3 million euros was activated.
During the years 2022 and 2023, Rome the capital intensified its fire prevention strategy by interacting increasingly with the Regional Civil Protection Agency and with the Provincial Command of the Fire Brigade of Rome, in order to optimize resources for the fight active in view of their more rational and incisive distribution and capacity for use.
Furthermore, to make territorial surveillance and firefighting action more effective, drones will be used, with the appropriate authorizations, to monitor potentially harmful events. Just last year, drone monitoring proved to be extremely effective for promptly intervening in dangerous situations.
“Having only one vehicle was unsustainable, we decided to make a leap in quality by going from 1 to 6 vehicles. Already last year with the strengthening of the hydrants, the water capacity for firefighting and the first work with drones, we had a reduction in fires of over 38% compared to 2022, which I remember was a very challenging due to the number of fires. Now we are further strengthening our intervention capacity, given that Rome, for two thirds of its extension, is green territory and the risk of both natural and arson fires is very high. With these new means and with the help of drones, we are ready for the campaign against forest fires which will begin in the next few weeks”, declared the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri.
“This year’s firefighting campaign coincides with important funding from the administration for the provision of new vehicles, allocations which also concerned the strengthening of the garden service’s fleet of vehicles with the purchase of a new tanker. The Environment Department works in close collaboration with the Civil Protection Department on the prevention front and, with this objective, last year all green areas under its jurisdiction were mowed. With a changing climate, rising temperatures and the phenomenon of drought, prevention takes on fundamental importance. This firefighting campaign, in the name of vertical and horizontal subsidiarity, will aim to consolidate cooperation between the capital of Rome and the volunteering network and, together, will implement an important awareness and information campaign aimed at citizens to promote good practices for disseminating the culture of prevention” declared the Councilor for Agriculture, Environment and Waste Cycle Sabrina Alfonsi.
“Roma Capitale intensifies its ability to actively fight fires, especially in the part of the territory that lies between the urban territory and the rural and forested one. The active fight, however, is only part of the task that local authorities have in the prevention and contrast phase. It is important to activate the conscience of citizens with a strong awareness campaign, above all to relaunch the good behaviors that are the basis of everyone’s safety, to avoid actions that could generate dangerous situations that often cause the ignition and spread of fires. The basis of a safer city is citizens’ awareness and good practices”, commented the Director of Rome’s Civil Protection, Giuseppe Napolitano.
– Photo: Municipality of Rome press office –
(ITALPRESS).
Do you want to publish Italpress.com content on your website or do you want to promote your business on our site and on those of our partner publications? Contact us at [email protected]
Tags: Fires Civil Protection vehicles supplied Rome Italpress news agency
