Poland sends firefighters to help put out wildfires in France

Poland on Thursday sent 49 fire engines with a total a crew of 146 to help combat wildfires raging in the south of France, according to officials. 

Poland on Thursday sent a team of 146 firefighters to help combat forest blazes raging in the south of France.

PAP/EPA

Under orders from Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński, the firefighting teams were due to depart from the southwestern city of Legnica for France’s Bordeaux region around noon, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

🚒🔥 146 polskich strażaków jeszcze dziś wyruszy do Francji 🇵🇱🇫🇷 W związku z ogromnymi pożarami lasów francuscy strażacy otrzymają wsparcie dwóch modułów gaśniczych #GFFFV Poland @KGPSP.#MisjaFrancja

Więcej w komunikacie ⤵️https://t.co/DJ97hZ9rPz pic.twitter.com/U5BywvqZaA

— MSWiA 🇵🇱 (@MSWiA_GOV_PL) August 11, 2022

🇵🇱 🇫🇷 #MisjaFrancja
Siły i środki #GFFFV Poland już w komplecie w punkcie koncentracji w okolicach Legnicy. Trwają ostatnie działania organizacyjne i wkrótce wyruszą w drogę💪👨‍🚒🚒@MSWiA_GOV_PL @PompiersFR @eu_echo #EUCivPro #euecho #EUSavesLives #civpro
📷st.asp.Łukasz Nowak pic.twitter.com/g32EYDVi0y

— Państwowa Straż Pożarna (@KGPSP) August 11, 2022

Poland offered support after the government in Paris appealed for help through the European Union’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), officials said.  

According to France’s Interdepartmental Crisis Management Operational Centre (COGIC), the blazes have already consumed over 700 hectares of forest.

Some 3,000 people have been evacuated, according to media reports.

Over the past year, Polish firefighters have helped put out wildfires in Turkey, Greece and the Czech Republic, news outlets reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu