A lot is happening in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine with regards tot he fire brigades. Various agreements between border municipalities regulate the daily firefighting. In the event of large-scale incidents, the Emric plan comes into effect. This is a generic Euregional assistance plan, which must guarantee rapid assistance regardless of the language and origin of the emergency service. This plan also includes technical assistance.
All agreements in the field of fire-fighting and technical assistance are made in the Focusgroup Pompiers. This group meets at least 4 times a year and has been doing so for many years. The group includes the South Limburg Fire Brigade (NL), the Fire Brigade of the city of Aachen (D), the Kreisbrandmeister of the Städteregion Aachen (D), the Kreisbrandmeister of the Kreis Heinsberg (D), the Kreisbrandmeister of the Kreis Düren (D), the safety zones East Limburg (B) and the regions in Liège (B) and the German-speaking Community (B).
The focus group has set up the following sub-working groups:
The assistance agreements that have been made or will be made in these groups will be included in the Emric document.
CBRN (hazardous agents)
The measurement methods in the Meuse-Rhine Euregio differ in the three countries. That is why it is so important to work together on this topic as well. This is done in the CBRN working group. Because when hazardous substances are released, it is very important to measure, interpret, advise on the measures to be taken, carry out appropriate actions and inform the neighbouring regions.
With regard to informing each other about an incident involving hazardous substances, it has been agreed within EMRIC that the control room in the affected area or areas will always be informed, plus one control room per country, which will then forward the report to the other control rooms in its country. These initial reports are made using webapplication. The incident can then be followed on the crisis management systems of the region where the incident occurred.
Divers
The Divers working group includes specialists in this field. They prepare the joint rescue and recovery operations in and on the water. This involves looking at the possibilities of cross-border assistance in the event of water accidents, where foreign diving teams can provide increased capacity and possible relief.
Digital reconnaissance
Almost all EMRIC partners now use digital reconnaissance to support various firefighting tasks. The Digital Reconnaissance Working Group is taking stock of what tools are available, such as drones or firefighting robots, and what developments there are in the three countries, both in technical terms and in terms of laws and regulations.
Materials
The Materials working group discusses which materials are available from the partners in EMRIC. Detailed lists are made that not only state what is available, but also state the travel time and construction time, how much space the equipment requires and what may be needed on site. This material list has been included in the web application used by the control centres for Euregional requests for assistance.
Wildfires
Wildfires are becoming more and more common, and within EMRIC there is a working group that deals with this topic. This working group examines which forms of vegetation grow in EMRIC's working area and which materials are available at the collaborating partners. The aim is of course to be able to help each other as quickly and adequately as possible.