The Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) on Monday presented its annual report at their New Year’s reception, looking back on close to 70,000 deployments – almost 200 a day – while also noting that many calls represented false alarms.
Speaking to RTL, CGDIS director Paul Schroeder argued that this phenomenon has increased since the Covid-19 pandemic. Together with Home Affairs Minister Léon Gloden, Schroeder further used the opportunity of the reception to outline the Corps’ future projects and challenges.
With the first National Plan for the Organisation of the Emergency Services (PNOS) coming to an end, preparations need to be taken for the follow-up plan, officials noted, saying that preventive fire protection will play a major role. Since the government is committed to tackling the housing crisis with accelerated building strategies, the CGDIS also has to accelerate their fire protection opinions.
Minister Gloden also underlined the importance of fostering a productive dialogue with municipal officials and other relevant actors to further strengthen the country’s resilience.
The CGDIS continues to rely on voluntary fire brigades, and officials have observed a shift in trends around people’s commitment. The concept of a ‘forever firefighter’ no longer exists, they explained, and it has become more common for people join and leave the Corps depending on their private and professional lives.
To accommodate this, officials plan on introducing different formal statuses for members of voluntary fire brigades. The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) is said to have completed a respective study, which is currently pending publication, and a draft law is expected to be filed by Easter of this year.
Another challenge on the CGDIS horizon is the launch of the new ‘Resc-LU’ unit, which is to support municipalities in the case of natural disasters. Inspired by the Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk, the federal civil protection organisation of Germany, the new crisis unit hopes to attract new personnel of different backgrounds, according to Schroeder, labelling it an option for people wanting to join the Corps in a different capacity.
Minister Gloden explained that it remains to be seen how big the staff of the new unit will be. Nevertheless, he said it is clear that Resc-LU will be part of the CGDIS to ultimately help relieve pressure from other units.
The country’s new emergency alert messaging system, known as LU Alert, has been operational since October. Minister Gloden highlighted his satisfaction with the app’s performance in its initial months, highlighting that 3,500 people had tested it, with 85% of users expressing satisfaction.
