Firefighter’s and volunteer’s trainings continues in the South-East Region

Successfully completed the three two-day trainings in the Republic of Bulgaria, provided in the activities of the project “Cross-Border Cooperation in Forest Fire Fighting” financed by the European Union through the Interreg IPA Program for cross-border cooperation between R. Bulgaria and R. N.Macedonia 2014-2020, a project that the Centre for Development of the South-East Planning Region is implementing in partnership with the Association of South Western Municipalities, Blagovegrad, Republic of Bulgaria.

In the next period, the remaining three two-day specialized trainings will be held in the Republic of N.Macedonia, with a schedule of implementation:

Ø November 10-11, 2022 (fourth specialized training);

Ø November 24-25, 2022 (fifth specialized training);

Ø November 28-29, 2022 (sixth – final specialized training).

Firefighters and volunteers from the southwestern Bulgaria will have the opportunity together with their colleagues from the region to measure their strength through practical exercises on Mount Ograzhden, in a rescue operation in the building of the former Kasarna in Strumica, as well as a final competition and a final conference at which participants will be awarded certificates for participating in the six trainings.

Promoting volunteerism from young ages

The CDSEPR as part of the activities from the project “Cross-Border Cooperation in Forest Firefighting”, together with the partners from Bulgaria, has carried out an information campaign to promote firefighting. Being a volunteer firefighter is an honor, a selfless commitment to saving human life, nature, and homes. The love for voluntary firefighting should be instilled from a very young age.

 

On the day of the firefighters, when the professional firefighters officially received their personal protective equipment for protection from forest fires, children from the primary school from Valandovo visited the Territorial Firefighting Unit in their municipality. The children together with the Mayor of Valandovo, Mr. Pero Kostadinov, and the Director of the Center, Ms. Julieta Gjurkova had the opportunity to see and try the new equipment for extinguishing forest fires, to learn what it means to be a firefighter, how to extinguish fire, what should be done when the phone rings for a fire alarm, etc. The event was a great opportunity to promote how from an early age children are encouraged to become heroes – volunteer firefighters in the community. The possibility of extinguishing the simulated fire, as well as driving with the vehicles of the fire brigade was a special pleasure and great joy for the children, but also for the firefighters who received very sincere children’s smiles in return. Volunteering is the moment of raising of civic awareness for wider social engagement for the benefit of the community in which we live, one of the most essential and most useful activities that we as human beings can undertake from a very young age.

The project for “Cross-Border Cooperation in Forest Fire Fighting” is co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Program between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia 2014-2020 and is implemented by the Centre for Development of the South-East Planning Region, in partnership with the Association of Southwest Municipalities, Blagoevgrad, Republic of Bulgaria.

Alone we can’t do as much as we can do together!