Civil protection in Europe: Comprehensive civil protection in Austria

Major damaging events and disasters come suddenly, unexpected, are unpredictable and often affect us directly. The safety-political initial conditions at the beginning of the 21st Century in Austria and in Europe are also unfortunately everything but pleasing. Addressed here besides the many incidents, which spread around the world in various media, are also clearly the alarming increase in recent years in infringements of international humanitarian law of nations, above all against the Geneva Conventions and their supplementary protocols. The best chance to cope with disasters is to take precautionary measures in time and in full! The aim of modern “comprehensive civil protection” requires that all relevant players on all relevant levels of authorities, relief & assignment organisations agree upon binding joint objectives for the benefit of the population and use the financial resources to be collected well planned and efficiently.

The "comprehensive civil protection" consists of 3 pillars:

The 1st pillar:

Contingency measures of the authorities

With the first two pillars the federal government, the states, municipal authorities and relief and assignment organisations cooperate closely in order to be able to ensure an as far as possible effective and coordinated relief system! The respective civil protection laws of the states represent here the legal basis for the system of disaster contingency and disaster management. The supreme authority in Austria is the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which acts as a coordination department. The following assist in civil protection: Workers-Samaritan-Organisation Austria (ASBÖ), Austrian Red Cross (ÖRK), Maltese Hospital Service (MHD), Johanniter-Accident Aid (JUH), the Austrian mountain rescue, the professional and volunteer fire services, the Austrian federal army and many other relief and assignment organisations. At this point it must however also be said that the largest money pot is of little benefit when the understanding or the willingness to binding cooperation, which always also means giving up a piece of oneself, is missing and thus the implementation of simple measures fails already. The deficits are known to everyone – everyone has concep-tual proposals, ideas and willingness to act. It depends on using and implementing the existing potential properly in this sense.

The 2nd pillar:

Contingency measures of the assignment organisations

The starting basis for all considerations concerning this issue are formed by the repeatedly observed difficulties which arise when a multitude of assignment organisations and the respective involved authorities, but also business companies come together. De-tailed evaluations and analyses of assignment-related exercises with major damages and disaster scenarios have made it clear to the GOs and NGOs that the problems occur on various levels of the interaction of the assignment organisations, which can only be solved through a joint training of the respective acting executives.

The integrated assignment management training (IEFA), as a result of these efforts, has made its prime aim to convey the executives of all organisations, who come into contact with this issue, the theoretical know-how and practical skills for a cross-organisation management of complex assignments. The essential result of this training is that sufficient executives are anchored in all organisations, who in an assignment know the structures and special features both of their own, as well as the other organisations. In an assignment, where every second counts and thus the pressure to act is extremely high, this know-how leads to a substantial improvement in efficiency and optimum use of the existing resources.

The fact is that there is a large number of injured persons in the first phase of the relief compared with medical care which is insufficient in terms of numbers and equipment. The aim of medical and first aid efforts is therefore to save as many lives as possible.

Therefore, it must also be the aim within the ASBÖ to clarify the various organisational structures and the interfaces internally and externally in order to link the individual parts of the organisation to one powerful assignment organisation! The measures are exactly regulated with the ASBÖ in the “regulation for the civil protection service”, in the “execution provisions for major accidents” and in alarm and assignment plans.

ASBÖ civil protection assignment modules are set-up in the form of fast task forces. They are clearly defined, have a uniform designation and a defined lead-up time.

- Management

- SanHiSt

- Logistics/transport

- Communication

- Meals

- Rescue dogs

- Mobile medical team

- Accomodation &

& supervision

- Technology

- ABC own protection

- KIT/Peers

The 3. pillar:

The self protection

The third pillar of the “comprehensive civil protection”, the “self protection”, is taken very seriously by the ASBÖ, under self-protection one understands the sum of all measures, which a person should undertake in emergencies for his own protection and for the protection of his environment. Therefore, we consider it to be a further urgent task besides the assignment contingencies to bring self-protection closer to as large a part of the Austrian population as possible as a means of prevention. In close cooperation with the authorities and the Austrian civil protection association and its regional organisations, we wish to inform the citizens about the prevention issues “safety – health and environment”

“You have to start practising early to become a master sometime” – therefore we begin in child day care centres and schools already with information and motivation & training of the youths, whereby for us as rescue organisation of course the issue of “First Aid” is in the forefront!

C-circle Vienna (civil protection circle)

A model for Europe

There is a model for civil protection and relief which has been successful for 17 years in the federal capital of Vienna, by the way one of the safest cosmopolitan cities. Thousands of professional as well as volunteer helpers are well prepared for a serious case.

The C-circle is an amalgamation of the professional and voluntary relief and assignment organisations. The hub and joint contact point here is the city of Vienna, magistrate head office disaster management and immediate measures and the association “The helpers of Vienna” inform the population of Vienna about self-protection, civil protection and civil protection contingencies. Through motivation and active participation they want to promote the ideas of help thy neighbour.

The ASBÖ – quality network

links all initiatives for quality management in all ASBÖ organisations and thus creates a uniform structure in each of the new federal states and thus in the whole association. Binding minimum standards were created for the civil protection service for national, international aid and for the civil protection in special quality circles, which describe the core processes of the rescue and patient transport ambulance, training and the respective civil protection units.

The standards are part of a network in which the specialist exchange of information within the ASBÖ and to other organisations and facilities which deal with “comprehensive civil protection”, is in the forefront. The ASBÖ now has tools of a modern mana-gement, which will also enable it in future to reliably perform its services at a high standard for the Austrian population.