LUC WASSENBERG

name: Luc Wassenberg
organisation: Vigiles
function: Adviseur Fysieke Veiligheid
MIRG-EU role: Leader of working group Equipment
email: luc@vigiles.nl

The MIRG project is, besides a boost to maritime safety, a way to discover ‘best practices’ from other EU partners. Although it sometimes looks for the outsider that in Europe we fight fires in the same way it is in fact often a completely different approach from one country to the next.

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.