On October 4, at the social center of La Floresta (Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona), we held the second "Preparem-nos!" (Let's be prepared!) work day within the framework of FIREPRIME, organised by the Pau Costa Foundation (PCF), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia- CERTEC and the Open University of Catalonia – CARENET.
This time the main objective of the day was to encourage self-protection and promote community action against the risk of wildfires in the Sant Cugat area by creating a meeting space between residents of the neighborhoods of La Floresta, Sol i Aire and Mas Fortuny with emergency services —such as the Fire Department, the Forest Defense Groups (ADF), Civil Protection, and representatives of the Sant Cugat City Council— to jointly analyse the vulnerability and risk of wildfires in their residential environments.
“The dynamics of community participation are essential to prepare us for fires. We need spaces for meeting and exchange between the neighborhood and emergency services,” highlights Elsa Pastor from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – CERTEC
Through practical workshops and collaborative dynamics, the risk of wildfires was analysed at the community level, sharing information and technical criteria on the potential risk of fire in each residential area, jointly evaluating the state of the neighborhood in relation to the risk (taking into account aspects such as exposure, vulnerability of buildings, access or continuity of fuel) and promoting a shared diagnosis of the risk as a basis for planning future actions. Coordination between the neighborhood and agents involved in risk management was also facilitated to learn about roles and responsibilities and identify coordination gaps and points for improvement in risk preparation. Finally, the foundations were laid to identify and implement specific risk reduction actions, detecting priority self-protection actions at the community level and exploring self-organisation models.
“It was a very useful day because we managed to establish contact with the appropriate interlocutors such as firefighters, ADFs, city council. We were able to extract useful information on how to protect ourselves and we were also able to convey our concerns regarding the fire,”says Carolina Otaño, president of the Mas Fortuny Neighbours Association.
This day has allowed us to exemplify how the FIREPRIME project is committed to collaborative risk management, actively involving citizens in the prevention and preparation for wildfires, and putting technical knowledge and experience at the service of local communities.