A contract for the supply of 4,500 sets of personal protection (uniforms, helmets, boots) for voluntary groups, in the framework of the implementation of the AIGIS programme, was signed yesterday afternoon by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias.

The value of the equipment amounts to 2.7 million euros and the delivery is expected within the coming fire season. The equipment will cover all of the country’s civil protection volunteers, and in the event of a future increase in their number, codes have been reserved for new, direct tenders.

Addressing the volunteers, the minister said, among other things, “It is not often that politicians see what they have said or promised being implemented. Personal protective equipment is a capable and necessary condition for fighting men of duty, as you all are. Many times with the Deputy Secretary, Mr. Tourna, the Fire Chief, and the staff we have discussed ways we can improve our relationship with each other for what the Fire Department performs and is sacred, the protection of human life.”

The minister expressed his respect and appreciation for the volunteers, stressing that what they do “they do from the heart, without return.” “It’s not just the fire season. It is all kinds of emergencies served by the Civil Protection, ministry with the Fire Service as its arm and the volunteers as its spearhead. We saw you all over the field this year, all of you. With courage and daring but also with the professionalism and vigor to help in what I think – by general admission – everyone admits was probably the most difficult fire season of the last 40 years in terms of fire weather conditions. An arid year, with no snow in our mountains and no rain anywhere, with insurmountable conditions. What you all achieved together is staggering. Everyone in Greece realised it, but it may have taken the tragic events on our continent or in America all these months to realise what a tremendous job has been done by the Ministry of Civil Protection. How much tremendous work has been done in the Fire Brigade and the part of our volunteers”, Kikilias noted.

For his part, the chief of the Fire Corps, Lieutenant General, Theodoros Vayas noted that with the personal protection equipment with which the volunteers will be equipped, “they will be able to operate safely in all operations together with the Fire Corps.” “Apart from a big “thank you” and congratulations to everyone, we should say that in the result that was formed throughout the previous difficult year, they contributed substantially with their assistance and presence in all incidents,” he stressed.

“Today, we feel justified, after many years of effort, because Mr. Minister, you proved that theory can become practice and our work can have real results,” stressed, among others, the president of the Voluntary Organization “Volunteer Firefighters Rescue Corps of Western Achaia” Gerasimos Panagopoulos. As he said, for the last 15 years he has been dealing with the institution of volunteer Civil Protection in our country, “the only structure that involves qualified and certified citizens with direct full, and under their coordination, cooperation with security bodies, and primarily the Fire Department, on crisis management.”

“In the last few years, we have seen three laws. 30.13/2002, 42.49/2014 and 46.62/2020 coming to Parliament for consultation and passage. They all remained on paper and 46.62/2020 is the only law that with your initiatives and decisions and in cooperation with the General Secretariat of Civil Protection is taking shape and I am talking specifically about the issues related to the institution, the volunteer civil protection, which from now on we should use it more often.

On the positive side of the law, the new single civil protection volunteer register has been activated, where we have moved from the “all the good ones fit in” phase, as we say in my country, to the phase of certifying the qualifying members of the volunteer organizations in the territory. There is still a lot to be done, but as you have already demonstrated with prudence dialogue, and consultation, we believe that we will leave the bad things behind us and move forward together, because only in this way can we succeed in a modern new era with the safety of our fellow citizens and the environment as our sole focus”, stressed Mr Panagopoulos. Finally, he stressed that on the occasion of the event, given the great opportunity as a voluntary organization of the region to make their voice heard, he thanked them for the supply of the necessary means of personal protection of their members through the program AIGIS.