Germany provides help for Greece in fighting forest fires
News Civil protection 10 August 2021
Along with firefighters from the federal states of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, experts from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief are on their way to Greece.
German first responders are helping Greek firefighters combat the forest fires currently ravaging that country. In response to the Greek government’s request for help through the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism, Germany has mobilised more than 200 firefighters and more than 50 vehicles to help put out the fires raging in several areas of Greece.
The Federal Agency for Technical Relief is providing support for German firefighting teams in Greece
The Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) is also involved in this effort: 15 THW experts are providing logistical support and equipment maintenance for the German firefighting mission in Greece.
The THW is Germany’s technical relief organisation at federal level and is staffed by nearly 80,000 volunteers. It can be deployed by order of the Federal Government to respond to emergencies anywhere in the world.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism
The European Commission established the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in 2001. If a country in Europe or elsewhere experiences an emergency that it is unable to manage on its own, it can get help by activating the Civil Protection Mechanism. Last year, the EU responded to more than a hundred requests made in this way. For example, the EU provided assistance following a major explosion in Beirut, Lebanon and helped pay to fly EU citizens back to their home countries at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.