The annual operation, organised by the Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Warsaw, was held for the eighth time. Rescuers from many European countries, firefighters, counter-terrorism officers, officers of the Government Protection Bureau, soldiers from the Epidemiological Response Centre of the Polish Armed Forces, and members of the rescue groups of the Polish Red Cross, GOPR and TOPR came to Pstrąże (Bolesławiec County).
During the manoeuvres, the search-and-rescue teams with dogs acquitted themselves particularly well. Everyone gathered had the opportunity to see a helicopter rescue operation with their own eyes. The exercises were conducted according to the programme, although the weather that day was extremely uncooperative and it poured with rain for a long time. The Bolesławiec firefighters in Pstrąże were represented by the County Commander of the State Fire Service, Grzegorz Kocon. The exercises were also closely observed by the Bolesławiec County Head, Cezary Przybylski.
“The exercises are held here because the buildings are very badly damaged. These are very realistic conditions,” says Grzegorz Kocon. “This is military territory. There are no civilians to worry about,” the commander adds. The aim of this year’s exercises was to improve cooperation between the fire service and other services and social organisations, including those from abroad. One of the assumptions of “Pstrąże 2007” was to practise a rescue operation in a hypothetical country that had experienced a major disaster—an earthquake. The buildings at the Pstrąże training ground were ideally suited to this purpose.
The decontamination demonstration was undoubtedly also fascinating. “We have a medical support unit with biological reconnaissance teams capable of safely and professionally collecting samples suspected of contamination,” says Colonel Artur Zdrojewski, Commander of the Epidemiological Response Centre of the Polish Armed Forces. Four soldiers from the Centre demonstrated how chemicals or radioactive materials encountered by a person can be effectively removed and deactivated.
The soldiers are excellently prepared. They are ready at any moment to support the Polish mission in Iraq. They may also be useful in Poland. “We have specialist teams of toxicologists and epidemiologists that can support hospitals with their professional knowledge,” Commander Zdrojewski notes. However, as he admits: “Many services take part in every incident. There must be cooperation between them so that they do not get in one another’s way.” The aim of the “Pstrąże 2007” operation was certainly achieved to some extent.
(GA report)