Emergency officials from Romania sat in the hot sun of southeast Alabama on Wednesday afternoon and watched as more than a dozen firefighters unrolled hoses, climbed a tower, rescued a survivor and performed CPR on him.
The five Romanians, including the Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations from the former Communist country, watched, videoed and asked questions, hoping to take training procedures and continuing education systems back to their homeland as the nation seeks to localize its emergency and fire protection services.
“They are nice people,” said Cindy Bachus, state public affairs officer for the Alabama National Guard. “They want to learn and we are a country that wants to help. It’s a good partnership.”
The State of Alabama, slightly smaller than the East European nation, has had a 15-year partnership with Romania that includes a trading of ideas on military and governmental fronts, economic development and other facets which will allow the country to prosper and grow.
The country, which includes the former state of Transylvania which was established in the 10th Century, joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union in 2007. Since the nation became a democracy in 1989, it has been governed by multiple parties and is playing catch-up to its European neighbors on many fronts.
Firefighting and rescue equipment is 20 years old, and the department is now moving from military rule to an interior department that will operate much like America’s Homeland Security.
The group spent much of the day with members of the Dothan Fire Department at the department’s training facility on Westgate Parkway.
“They wanted to look at a comprehensive department that offered initial training and sustaining education in firefighting, rescue, emergency services and hazardous materials,” said Dothan fire department spokesman Capt. Chris Etheredge.
“The thought is, they can take some of our concepts back to Romania.”
Lt. Gen. Vladimir Secara is the top emergency services official in his country. Etheredge said he manages 32,000 employees and will oversee the restructuring of emergency situations.
“They are going from a federal emergency services agency to a municipal-based one with localized training.”
How did the Romanians end up observing Dothan firefighters? Because of Dothan firefighter Stephen Messer. The Technical Rescue Team captain is in the Alabama National Guard.
“They wanted to come to a premier and all-encompassing department,” Fire Chief Larry Williams said.
Messer talked his way through the training process, explaining how communications radios are used, how command centers are set up, and how the various responsibilities of each rescue team member are established.
Romania has a population of 22 million. It is bordered on the east by the Black Sea and borders the countries of Hungary, the Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Moldova. Lands to the north are mountainous and fertile to the south in the Danube Delta.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement