DAVID BROWN

name: David Brown
organisation: Kent Fire and Rescue Service
funcion: Project Officer for MIRG-EU
MIRG-EU role: Work Group Leader for ETE
email: david.brown@kent.fire-uk.org

yell: “This secondment is an opportunity for me to use over twenty years MIRG experience and help to develop a partner working collaboration for the 2 Seas Region and improve the emergency response. It is also an opportunity for me to enhance my own MIRG skills, work with partners, meet new friends and open a wider MIRG network with our European colleagues and contacts.”

MIRG EX is an international joint partnership. Safety Region Zeeland (NL), which brings together crisis management, fire fighters and medical assistance, is lead partner. The other partners in the project are: the Fire Brigades of Antwerp, Beveren and Ghent (BE). These brigades are linked to important international ports, that accommodate large chemical production plants. Being able to effectively fight fires on board ships is simply essential. In addition to the fire brigades, the Federal Organisation of Public Civil Assistance in Brugge, the Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services-Shipping Assistance Division and the Maatschappij van de Brugse Zeehaven nv (Zeebrugge Port Authority) are partners in the MIRG-EX project. The French Service départemental d’incendie et de secours de Pas-de-Calais and the English Kent Fire and Rescue Service complete the partnership. Both are confronted with heavy traffic on the Channel and the North Sea. An incident may be just around the corner, but this doesn’t mean it can be easily reached let alone be dealt with. Working with similar teams on both shores, reduces will help to reduce response time.