The entities that throughout the week tested the military and civil response capacity to a large magnitude earthquake concluded that communication between the organizations must be improved, according to the results of the exercise released this Friday, November 21st.
“The army, in particular, has a very good terrestrial communications capacity (…) but we need to better train this communications capacity to integrate the various systems that exist”said the Army’s chief of staff, General Eduardo Mendes Ferrão, in statements to journalists about the conclusions of Exercise FÉNIX 25 that took place this week in Lisbon.
The general also said that the integration of security teams in the same “space is critical”, highlighting that the groups are not trained to cooperate with each other.
The Army chief of staff also highlighted that when different teams work together they need to have the same performance standards, in order to achieve a timely and quality response.
The Fénix25 exercise involved operatives from the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), the Lisbon Volunteer Firefighters, the Lisbon City Council, the Portuguese Red Cross, the Air Force, the National Republican Guard (GNR), the Public Security Police (PSP), the Lisbon Municipal Police, the Special Civil Protection Force and the Lisbon Sapadores Fire Brigade regiment.
For the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, who was also present at the final balance of the year, it is important that the operational staff get to know each other, highlighting that communication is essential.
After being asked about the operational capacity to respond to a real earthquake, Carlos Moedas responded that the results of the exercises were positive, highlighting that the more exercises are carried out in this context, the more prepared the security forces are for a catastrophe.
“I think the results were very positive, of very good work between all the forces, not only municipal but also national, so now it’s time to continue, I think the more exercises we do, the more prepared we are”indicated the mayor.
For the national emergency and civil protection commander, Mário Silvestre, entities are prepared to respond to an earthquake of great magnitude, but must always seek to improve their capabilities
“I would say we are prepared, but in reality, we can never be comfortable with what we have. And therefore, we must continue to maximize our potential and explore new capabilities.”said the commander, highlighting the integration of innovative companies in the exercises.
Exercise FÉNIX 25 is the largest national exercise in the field of emergency military support and aims to test and validate the coordinated response of the Army’s Emergency Military Support System to requests for assistance from Civil Protection.
The test began on Monday and ended today, with search and rescue exercises for people being carried out, including with military dogs, among other actions necessary in the event of a magnitude earthquake, such as clearing roads.
Exercise FÉNIX 25 took place in various locations in the Lisbon district and involved the participation of 411 operatives supported by more than 100 vehicles.
This exercise has been carried out every year since 2018.