GFMC International Fire Emergency Hotline
GFMC International Fire Emergency Hotline
Between 1999 and 2003 the GFMC cooperated with the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) in the establishment of the INSARAG Fire Group. This collaborative work was sponsored by the German Foreign Office. Details on the formation process of this new group during 1999-2000 were presented at the Baltic Exercise for Fire Information and Resources Exchange (BALTEX FIRE 2000) (Finland, June 2000). The formal establishment of the Fire group within the Europe-Africa region was decided at the 5th INSARAG Regional Europe-Africa Meeting, Hammamet, Tunisia, November 2000. In 2002 the UN General Assembly Resolution 57/150 “Strengthening the effectiveness and coordination of international urban search and rescue assistance” (19 December 2002), which was supported by 58 governments, did not include a fire component of INSARAG. At the foundation meeting of INSARAG Fire it was recommended:
- INSARAG-Fire is a global network of specialists in dealing with industrial fire, wildland fire and HAZMAT incidents affecting populations and the environment
- INSARAG-Fire is organized in regional nodes
- INSARAG-Fire has been initiated by a Starting Core Group of INSARAG Europe-Africa and will seek the establishment of Fire groups in the INSARAG Americas and Asia-Pacific regions.
- Activation of involvement of existing international structures by calling on wildland fire expertise of international organizations and individuals already in place will be coordinated through the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) network
- Encourage a continuous exchange of information through the Internet, initially utilizing the Global Fire Monitoring Center network
In 2002 the UN General Assembly Resolution 57/150 “Strengthening the effectiveness and coordination of international urban search and rescue assistance” (19 December 2002), which was supported by 58 governments, did not include a fire component of INSARAG. Thus, the interim working group phased out in April 2004.
However, in support of major wildfire emergencies the GFMC cooperates with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) / UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), Joint Environment Unit, Emergency Services Branch. In March 2001 Joint Interface procedures between UNEP-OCHA and the GFMC have been signed and have been proven effective since then.
The GFMC is also available to respond to any other request by providing information or liaising with other international partners in the frame of the International Wildfire Preparedness Mechanism (IWPM), for instance provision of:
- Background information on the ecological, social and cultural fire environment of the region or country concerned
- Fire intelligence data (satellite imageries available from various sources)
- Early warning of fires, fire-weather predictions
- Contact persons in the countries
- Liaise with the joint UNEP-OCHA Environment Unit
This service is available to support information flow to officially ongoing emergency response through UN OCHA and other international mechanisms and procedures.
Contacting GFMC
Fax: +49-761-808012
Telephone: +49-761-808011
Telephone in case of emergency only to be used outside regular office hours:
+49-170 2 34 74 84
Satellite Telephone (Iridium) during emergency field operations (if activated):
+8816-316-43257
E-Mail: fire@fire.uni-freiburg.de
GFMC Website: https://gfmc.online/
Please note: The GFMC is located in Germany. Local German time is UTC (GMT) + 2 hours
Further information on INSARAG
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