Poland sends firefighters to Greece, Turkey and Germany to help with fires and floods

Poland has sent firefighters, police officers and equipment to Greece and Turkey to help tackle major forest fires, and to Germany to help it deal with the aftermath of recent flooding.

In Greece, the worst heatwave in decades has caused dozens of wildfires, in which at least two people have died. This morning, Poland’s prime minister revealed that his Greek counterpart had asked for Polish help in tackling the fires. Other countries, including France and Israel, have already sent support.

In response, the Polish government has dispatched 143 firefighters and 46 vehicles – from units specialising in fighting forest fires – to Greece. They are expected to reach the country on Monday and remain there until at least 23 August.

Today, a police helicopter also took off from Warsaw for Turkey, where it will help tackle fires that have hit the south of the country. Eight police aircrew and three firefighters are on board.

On Friday, a group of three Polish firefighters had already set off for Turkey by land, transporting equipment needed to extinguish fires by helicopter, including a 3,000-litre water tank. This evening, the fire service confirmed that both crews had reached Turkey.

Turkey has already received help from countries including Croatia, Spain, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Iran as it tackles its worst wildfires in decades, which have killed at least eight people and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands more.

Today, the Polish state fire service also announced that a group of firefighters had left for Germany to provide humanitarian aid, including 138 air dehumidifiers. They are due to arrive on Sunday in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state that was last month hit with severe floods.

Last week, Poland also sent dehumidifiers to the Germany state of North Rhine-Westphalia. “Poland is always a country of solidarity, ready to provide aid wherever it is needed and where we have the possibility to provide it,” said deputy foreign minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk.

In 2018, Poland also dispatched a large contingent of firefighters and equipment to Sweden, where they spent two weeks helping tackle the worst forest fires in the country’s history.

Main image credit: Państwowa Straż Pożarna/Gov.pl

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.