Wildfires 2023: Research that matters

Paweł Gromek, Officer, State Fire Service of the Republic of Poland/Associate Professor, Main School of Fire Service, Warsaw

My area of expertise in firefighting is in the organisational (systemic) aspects of firefighting and connecting firefighting to emergency management, disaster management and crisis management. In 2005–2016, I participated in firefighting rescue operations as a rescuer, dispatcher, officer in charge of the intervention action, and deputy commander of a firefighting rescue team. 

Now, I’m an Officer of the State Fire Service of the Republic of Poland, and teach as an Associate Professor at the Main School of Fire Service in Warsaw. I participate in firefighting education and research (my own research, as well as for publications and projects). I am also involved (as a promoter and reviewer) in PhD processes for firefighters and other applicants in the security studies scientific discipline.

I first got involved in firefighting just after I graduated high school and passed my maturity exam (matura). I applied to be a cadet at the Main School of Fire Service in Warsaw. The first years of my firefighting journey involved academic study at the university, as well as taking part in firefighting rescue actions as a rescuer. 

I was motivated by the will to help people in danger, as well as by working in a fast-paced environment that required innovative thinking and solutions.

One particularly memorable experience of working as a firefighter and rescuer is from the floods in Poland in 2010, when I witnessed the large scale of this kind of hazard, and realised the complexity of the relevant response. This instilled curiosity in me concerning non-linear disaster response, networking, and operational networks in national security. I now carry out research on multi-hazard approaches and multi-entity disaster management. This is very important nowadays, we live in a globalised world which is facing globalised threats.

Other memorable experiences I have are from participating in research and research-development projects (funded by UCPM, 7FP, H2020, Horizon Europe and Polish national agencies). Through these, I have realised that although firefighting in general is based on the same assumptions (fire is fire), the ways to do it are very complex, different, and locally-oriented. Many countries have unique firefighting solutions and modern (organisational and IT) platforms to facilitate information exchange. Also, in some countries, firefighters are more convinced about using these platforms and open to benchmarking foreign/international good practices than others. 

Wildfire risk is growing year by year. This is confirmed by international reports and many research papers. Even if other kinds of disaster triggers generate more severe consequences for human life, property, and the environment (floods and earthquakes, for example), every next season of wildfires in the EU presents a serious challenge for homeland security and international security. This situation is especially accelerated by climate change. 

Despite intensive adaptation for existing/forecasted/desirable climate conditions, wildfires are still a considerable hazard with potential to initiate a disaster. While it is most observed in South Europe and Western Europe, a specific line of high level wildfire risk travels further upwards (to the North and the North-East) year by year. This means that wildfires are becoming a common hazard for the entire EU.

There are challenges that we face. In many countries, widely-understood response to wildfires is based on firefighting entities and firefighting systems. For example, the National Firefighting Rescue System plays such a role in Poland. However, firefighters are not fully prepared to holistically face this hazard, which poses a pressing challenge. It is noticeable when we talk about multi-hazard approaches and situations when, for instance, a wildfire affects critical infrastructure (e.g. a petrol line or energy plant). This requires multi-entity operation and integration of firefighting entities and firefighting systems with other security-related systems (i.a. crisis management system, emergency management system, disaster management system, border security system, homeland security system).

A second pressing challenge is cross-border cooperation in times of military conflict and political pressures (see, for example, the situation at the Polish-Belarus border and the war in Ukraine). One entity is not able to cover operational expectations in such cases, so networking gains even more importance.

For me, EU civil protection and firefighting teams should keep organising common exercises and training sessions to share knowledge collected in different countries. Common standards for the use of unmanned aerial (UAVs) and ground vehicles (UGVs) are very welcome from the viewpoint of effective organisation of cross-border and international wildfire operations. As wildfire responses may require high consumption of operational resources (and not all relevant firefighters may have the chance to take part in specialised courses and training), we must collect good operational practices and share them in the form of, for example, a handbook among fire services in EU countries and the partner countries.