PALERMO (ITALPRESS) – The president of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, went to Pioppo in the afternoon, near Monreale, in the Palermo area, to attend the joint Civil Protection exercise dedicated to forest and interface firefighting, which took place carried out in the Casaboli woods. It is the third training activity in Sicily, after those of recent days in the provinces of Catania and Messina, to test in the field the level of training and operation achieved by volunteers specialized in forest firefighting. The objective is also to promote a common line of conduct between all the operational bodies involved in the various activities of forecasting, combating and managing emergencies related to fire risk: Forestry Corps of the Sicilian Region, Fire Brigade, regional department of Civil Protection .
“Prevention – said the governor – is strategic to deal with forest fires which, often at the hands of criminals, attack our forests. And the training of staff, including volunteers who support firefighters and foresters, is essential to strengthen their skills and increase the levels of preparation and their own safety. With my presence today, I wanted to personally verify the level of operation, but also to thank and make felt the closeness of the institutions, starting from the Government of the Region, to those who engaged in this exercise today: Civil Protection, foresters, firefighters and volunteers to be ready for any emergency”. There are around 200 volunteers, coming from the provinces of Palermo, Agrigento and Trapani, who under the guidance of firefighters and operators from the regional Forestry Corps carried out training activities throughout the day on techniques for fighting forest fires, but also for interface fires, given the presence of buildings near which it is possible to simulate such scenarios. At the end of the exercise, Schifani, together with the general manager of the regional civil protection department, Salvo Cocina, held a briefing with some local mayors to discuss the coordination of activities, in view of the start of the fire prevention campaign that the Region is undertaking. The year has been brought forward to the fifteenth of May. Photo: Sicilian Region press office (ITALPRESS). tvi/com 27-Apr-24 16:52 .
