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A European project for greater security on the Rhine
January 2015After the launch in 2008 of the first French-German rapid intervention facility on the Rhine – the "Europa 1 fire-boat" – the Fire and Rescue Service of the Bas-Rhin Department has worked for five years on the implementation of a new INTERREG project focused on the training of rescue services in the Upper Rhine in combating river-related risks.
Boat fires, pollution, damage to vessels, persons who have fallen into the water, retrieval of products in insecure containers, etc. – the scenarios for initial and ongoing training can be multiplied by means of seven simulators. They are provided to firefighters by the Rhine Centre for Training in the Management of River-Related Risks (Centre rhénan d'entraînement à la maîtrise des risques fluviaux – CRERF), which is installed in an old barge-tanker. Carried out with eight French and German partners¹ at an overall cost of €3 million, this pilot project, which is co-financed by the European Union, has been operational since September 2014. It draws on scenarios that are close to reality over an area of 1500 m².
In the light of the ever more dense river traffic in Europe, the objective is to prepare teams to intervene together, irrespective of their nationality, in the event of accidents occurring, taking care to harmonise operational practices. The CRERF aims to provide 3200 training days per year, a proportion of which will be offered to firefighters from other European regions that face river-related risks.
1 Co-financed by: the Länder of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, Gewerbepark Breisgau, France's Ministry of the Interior, the Alsace Region, the fire and rescue services of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin Departments, the Autonomous Port of Strasbourg, and the European Union.
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