On Saturday, 17 May, we held “Preparem-nos!” (“Let’s be Prepared!”) in the La Floresta neighbourhood (Sant Cugat, Barcelona) to raise awareness of the need to be prepared for the wildfire season. FIREPRIME members, firefighters, civil protection agents, wildfire defense groups, volunteers and residents and self-protection groups gathered to share useful knowledge on how to protect ourselves and see what we can do, both individually and collectively, against the risk of wildfire. This event is one of the activities of the project’s Collserola pilot test. 83 people attended the event.
With “Preparem-nos! organised” we aimed to encourage community participation to be prepared in the face of wildfires. It meant bringing together representatives from Sant Cugat city council, emergency services and people from communities of La Floresta, Sol i Aire and Mas Fortuny. The day was to facilitate dialogue and community work to prepare for the fire campaign that is about to begin,” explains Elsa Pastor, FIREPRIME’s project coordinator.
“Prerarem-nos!” Agenda
“Preparem-nos!” started with an official welcome by the City Council of Sant Cugat, followed by the presentation of the FIREPRIME project. This first session outlined the reasons behind the initiative, the objectives of the day, and the tools and methodologies developed to raise awareness and assess wildfire risks. International examples from countries such as Canada, Italy, and Chile were also presented to showcase good practices and inspire local actions.
The workshop continued with a dialogue and participation session, structured into three thematic blocks focused on emergency preparedness and the active role of the community:
- Emergency alert and response protocols
Presented by the Civil Protection of the Government of Catalonia, this segment explained how residents can stay informed about wildfire alerts and how to access critical information during an emergency. It also explored how neighbours can play a proactive role in community preparedness. - Sheltering and evacuation procedures
In this block, the Catalan Fire Department provided guidance on how to properly prepare for potential shelter-in-place or evacuation situations. Key topics included planning, reducing uncertainty, and addressing the psychological impact of emergencies. - Citizen self-protection
Finally, the Civil Protection of Sant Cugat and the Sol i Aire Self-Protection Group share practical experiences on how local communities can engage in risk management. The discussion highlighted the importance of creating and strengthening neighbourhood self-protection groups and fostering collaboration between residents and public authorities.
The event concluded with an open space for conversation and small group discussions, followed by a light refreshment served outdoors.
"We hope to have generated concern among the participants to start working on fire risk together and provide tools that we believe can help them. Among them, the project's home vulnerability assessment app, which was introduced during the event," explains Guillem Canaleta, from the Pau Costa Foundation.
About the Collserola Pilot test
The neighbourhoods of La Floresta and Sol i Aire are located at the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) of Collserola. That is why they were chosen by the FIREPRIME project as representative places to carry out one of the project's pilot tests, together with those being carried out in the areas of Gothenburg (Sweden) and the Austrian Tyrol. The Collserola pilot test aims to analyse the vulnerability of homes and neighbourhoods to wildfires and thus propose strategies and actions to reduce the risk of fire and create a culture of prevention and adaptation to fire risk. The pilot will also contribute to the development and improvement of the project's mobile application, which will allow residents to assess the vulnerabilities of their homes and thus have recommendations to improve the resilience of their homes.