EMRIC blows out 10 candles this year! But that's not all, we're actually celebrating a triple anniversary! Discover here what you can expect on the occasion of this special event where we delve into history up to 50 years ago.
50 years
This year marks the 50th anniversary of cross-border cooperation in firefighting and emergency medical services in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine!
It all began in 1974 with the trauma helicopter of the Kreis Aachen (now the Städteregion Aachen), which was made available by the German Bundeswehr and was stationed in Würselen at the time. The Kreis Aachen early on approached the Belgian and Dutch services in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine with the offer to deploy the trauma helicopter in their areas as well. The fire brigades along the borders also had contacts, helped each other, and celebrated together.
25 years
By then, the borders had been open for some time, and officials, politicians, and representatives of disaster management, crisis management, ambulance, and fire services regularly came together to discuss cross-border cooperation, serving the citizens in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. This laid the foundation for what would later become EMRIC!
10 years
After two projects funded by Interreg within the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, namely Emric and Emric+, EMRIC was established as a permanent collaboration in 2014. The collaborating partners are the City of Aachen, the Städteregion Aachen, the Kreis Heinsberg, the South Limburg Safety Region, the South Limburg Public Health Service (GGD), and the provinces of Liège and Limburg in Belgium, represented by their governors and their emergency planning services. Recently, Ambulancezorg Limburg (Netherlands) joined EMRIC. The emergency response zones in Belgium are also participating in EMRIC. Together, they cover all themes of EMRIC.
Throughout this anniversary year, you will hear from us regularly. We will delve into history, reconnect with former colleagues, and present the results in small texts on our website and social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn.