Fire Service re-organised to provide a better response to any emergency

Since it was founded 187 years ago, the Barcelona Fire Service has evolved and adapted to the city’s needs with the goal of preventing risks and offering a swift, efficient and coordinated response to any emergency. The Fire Prevention, Extinction and Rescue Service is now being re-organised to be able to tackle new crisis situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic, where prevention and protection protocols are essential for minimising risks and managing possible consequences.

13/07/2020 12:35 h

Ajuntament de Barcelona

The Fire Prevention, Extinction and Rescue Service is strengthening two of its areas to enhance its response capacity and resilience in the face of any future challenge. On one hand the service is boosting its civil protection and prevention role, and on the other it is to develop a new management model.

Strengthening civil protection and emergency prevention

Coordination between various areas and administrations to carry out prevention tasks hold the key to minimising risks in any emergency. Safety and prevention training will also be carried out with social workers who work with the most vulnerable. In this respect, the Espai Bombers educational facility will be a leading centre in terms of prevention. Along with the prevention classroom at the Vall d’Hebron fire station and the training room at the Zona Franca fire station, these facilities will act as hub for knowledge on fire prevention and civil protection.

In order to coordinate action in any emergency, the service will establish a logistical and organisational operations centre to manage the provision and distribution of aid materials. At the same time, in a move to improve service for the public, the emergency telephone numbers will be unified, with 112 the only number.

New management model

The service is being re-organised to strengthen its capacity to anticipate and respond, putting prevention and self-protection at the centre and maintaining ethical values and principles on both an operational and an organisational scale. The corps will also be working to incorporate the gender perspective throughout the organisation and to foster women’s access to the Barcelona Fire Service.

The civil protection division will have greater importance within the corps, to implement prevention protocols in the city. Accident investigation work will also be boosted to analyse accident causes and be able to apply prevention measures.

 

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