THE EUROPEAN FIRE ACADEMY Achievements & Outlook René Hagen EФA Vice President 11 September 2008

What we are EФA is: 1.an informal platform for those interested in fire services and catastrophe management – an “Academy” 2.the exchange of best practices 3.the expert body for fire safety issues

3rd Roundtable - Arnhem 2nd Roundtable - Hanover 1.Informal platform Since 2005: 7 Roundtables 49 different organisations Over 40 participants Dialogue with European Commission European Parliament Burn victims associations Technology partners Academics Media Website: 1st Roundtable - Brussels 4th Roundtable - Brussels 5th Roundtable - Budapest 6th Roundtable - Paris

2. Best practices EФA is the forum to exchange best practices and lessons learned Examples: Communication in communities - Merseyside / London Fire Brigade Fatal fires such as in Paris hotels (FR) and in the Schiphol detention centre (NL) The challenges of European co-operation: Fighting forest fires Greece – Budapest Fire Brigade

Merseyside / London Fire safety within the community Similar initiatives in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Amersfoort)

Fatal hotel fire & attacks on services in Paris Paris “hotel” fire – 16 April 2005: Fire killed 22 people, 10 children, 53 injuries Most of the inhabitants were immigrants, social housing Lessons learned: Importance of safe social housing Need of efficient communication with vulnerables (children, immigrants) Paris riots – 2005 / 2007 Attacks on firemen and stations Lessons learned: New challenge for fire services Need to upgrade protection of men and stations

Schiphol detention centre burn – NL Schiphol detention centre burn 27 October 2005: 11 fatalities, 15 injured Report of the independent Dutch Safety Board: –unsafe detention conditions –inadequate implementation of safety recommendations –insufficient training on the part of the guards –inadequate intervention upon discovery of the fire Lessons learned: Focus on fire safety in prisons Attention for content (bedding)

European Cooperation – Budapest Fire Brigade Forest Fires Greece, August 2007: State of emergency; Athens asking for international help Budapest fire brigade dispatches team Team to assist on island of Evia: –Find origin and contain fire –Highly challenging conditions –Monitor extinguished areas Lessons learned: Equipment not compatible Lack of continuous water supply

3. Expert body EФA offers expertise to third parties: DG Enterprise request for data regarding fires resulting from electrical applications EФA keen to provide input to collection of EU fire statistics EФA members support initiatives to improve of fire safety of consumer products

Why working groups? New format due to significant increase in participants – allow & stimulate discussion 3 Working groups (presentations, discussion, results) –Statistics –Domestic & hotel fire prevention –Communication to consumers & vulnerables Presentation on Friday (reporting back, discussion, next steps): –Clear objectives –Concrete actions moving forward

What we want to achieve today & tomorrow Working groups to present specific objectives & concrete actions: Statistics: How can we realistically acquire reliable data? Domestic & hotel fire prevention: How can we improve fire prevention? Communication to consumers & vulnerables: How can we upgrade communications? For your discussions: How can we support the European Commission? Should we include the “effects of climate change on our duties” as a 4 th priority? How can we attract new members from southern Europe?

What we have done since Paris We have presented EФA to Meglena Kuneva, European Commissioner for Consumer Protection We have established close dialogue with DG SANCO We are invited to meet with Arlene McCarthy Chair of the Consumer Affairs Committee of the European Parliament in October We have supported ACFSE in –TV burn demonstration in The Hague in April –UF burn demonstration in Delft in June We have introduced visiting programmes We have had regular contact amongst ourselves

THE EUROPEAN FIRE ACADEMY Achievements & Outlook René Hagen EФA Vice President 11 September 2008