Almost 600 rescuers are taking part in the international exercise ‘New Wave 2023’. Near Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, rescue groups from Ukraine, Finland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Croatia have been training together with Poles since 5 September. The exercise scenario covers the occurrence of flood hazards along the Narew and Vistula rivers.

“We have prepared exactly the same scenario as actually happened during the floods in 2010, when Poland first requested international rescue assistance”, said Mariusz Feltynowski, commandant-rector of the Fire Academy in Warsaw.

The exercises are conducted continuously, including at night. They are organised by the Headquarters of the State Fire Service and hosted by the Fire Academy in Warsaw. The scenario assumes that there is time between one and another wave of flooding in Poland. Domestic resources and equipment are insufficient and our country asks for international assistance.

“Rescuers with three specialisations have come to us from six countries: raising flood barriers, evacuating people with boats and high capacity pumps. We are practising the compatibility of these modules”, noted the commandant.

Ukrainians are also taking part in the exercises, as Ukraine has recently joined the European Civil Protection Mechanism.

“Under this mechanism, Ukraine is receiving a lot of aid from the European Union in relation to the war and the destruction. The Ukrainians are proving that solidarity works both ways”, said Maciej Popowski, Director-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid of the European Union.

New Wave 2023 is a flood-related exercise, but the types of exercise are more than a dozen. They concern, for example, fires, searching for earthquake victims, and there are also medical exercises. This is the fourth time that Poland has hosted such exercises, and Polish rescuers also train abroad. Every group prepared for international operations must do it at least once a year.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński