A contract for the supply of 414 vehicles for the operational needs of the Fire Brigade and Civil Protection, was signed today by the Minister of Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias.
It is a project worth 48.3 million euros, which is implemented within the framework of the flagship AEGIS program and covers all categories of vehicles for firefighting, rescue, transport of equipment and personnel, etc.
The supply includes, among other things, water-borne fire engines, VAN-type trucks and auxiliaries, 4×4 double-cab pick-ups, arm trucks, 22-seater buses, transport water tankers, etc.
The Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, said that of the 414 vehicles, at least 160 will be received before the fire season of 2025, while by next August 235 vehicles will have been delivered. He also underlined the imperative need to renew the Fire Department’s fleet, as the age of the vehicles it currently has ranges from 10 to 49 years.
The following are the speeches of the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilia and the Authorized Advisor of TAIPED, Panagiotis Stamboulidis:
VASILIS KIKILIAS: “Thank you very much for hosting us in a place of really high aesthetics, which symbolizes for us a very great effort. We had a lot of trouble with the Managing Director of TAIPED, Panagiotis Stampoulidis, when last year at this time there was a tender for all the vehicles of various types of the Fire Department, barren. And we decided in that period of time, in the months that passed – the tendering process lasted a total of 10 months – to be able to support and equip the Fire Department, whose needs are evolving, but also the new officers, new cadets, young firefighters, young forest commanders, our volunteers and the entire Greek society. In an effort that will permanently make it difficult and it is a supreme task for us to be able to cope with the conditions.
I think that as we speak, although the fire season ends on October 31st, the evidence speaks for itself. This year, we are 24% below the 20-year average for burned areas this year, in the most difficult fire-meteorological conditions in the last 40 years, according to scientists. With superhuman efforts, enormous battles, effort and struggle of all the service actors, not only the Fire Brigade, but also our volunteers, the forest chiefs, the forest workers, the Local Government of the first and second degree, the Greek Police, the Armed Forces , of all these agencies that joined together and made a huge effort this summer that some, before it started, predicted the most difficult, the most tragic period for our country, and I myself had admitted that it will indeed be the most difficult fire season which we will face.
The recruitment of new members of the Fire Service, whether they are forest commanders, firefighters, or through competitions, or through qualifying examinations for our officers entering our schools or probationary firefighters, will continue this year. So, the soul and heart of the House is its soul potential, which is next to our fellow citizens, to those who cannot, to those who are in a difficulty, to protect them, to help them. And, ladies and gentlemen, you who are new to the House will know that it is a great honor to serve in a House, to which you have sworn an oath to the country and the flag, and for which you risk your life and limb in order to protect our fellow citizens. This is the Fire Department and this is the legacy you receive and your path into the future.
I am very pleased to announce that these contracts that we are signing together with TAIPED, which implemented the tenders in question with swift and transparent procedures, concern 414 fire engines of various types. At least 160 will be received by the Fire Department before the fire season of 2025. So, before May 2025. By August 2025, 235 will have been received from this tender. And as Panagiotis Stamboulidis very rightly said, there are more to come.
So I would very much like to ask you, gentlemen of the market, after thanking you one by one and your companies for the excellent cooperation, to be able, and based on the schedule that we have made, to deliver to the Fire Department these vehicles that we have so much needed.
Hear how badly we need them: 85% of our vehicles are between 10 and 49 years old. Only 15% are under 9 years old. So there is a need, and it is very, very big, to operationally support the Fire Department, as we promised. And of course, with the Minister, Mr. Tournas, we have discussed it many times: this is the AEGIS program, this is its implementation, these are its absorptions, and already before the fire fighting period we signed contracts together with the private market for very high end equipment and high value supplies. And we will continue to do this throughout the winter.
The Fire Brigade, as I committed and promised to the Greek society in the presence of the Prime Minister, will continue to receive this excellent equipment throughout this preparation, before the fire fighting season of 2025. And this heavy and big competition will be completed until 2029-2030. The procedures are running. Today we will sign the contracts and I want to see them, Mr. Chief, out in the field, scattered everywhere, in the capital, in Attica and throughout the country, because our duty and obligation is not to be inside the fire services. It’s about being out there in the field, for citizens to see us, to feel safe and feel that the state, through the fire department, is there and supports them.
And one more thing. I think that, on the same level as the Greek Police, there is no other uniformed body in the country that has been tested and tested continuously, every year, every month, every day, in the field. So, these people prove their value, their contribution to the society, their professionalism, their work and their patriotism every day, continuously all these years. We are indeed constantly trying to improve, to use new technology and to be able to procure new media, etc. This has not been possible for many, many years, and because of the restrictive fiscal policies and the problems that the country has had.
So, we have mainly relied from 2009 until today on the donations that foundations, agencies or individuals were kind enough to make to us. Of course, in much smaller numbers than what I mentioned to you. So it was the vision and ambition of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to find a very large fund, and it was found: 2.1 billion euros, in order to be able to procure air and ground means, weather stations, radar, artificial intelligence, equipment for our firefighters, for our volunteers, 13 regional centers, artificial intelligence for the Civil Protection War Room, etc. The leader in the effort of all this is the part of the market that you represent, because, no lies, we put out fires when the boots step on the field and we go with the fire trucks.
So, once again, gentlemen, I am asking you warmly, in an organized, professional, timely manner to help these people do their jobs. Thank you very much”.
PANAGIOTIS STABOULIDIS: “One of our most important goals for the implementation of the emblematic AEGIS Program was completed today. I want to congratulate on the one hand my colleagues, the executives of TAIPED, on the other hand the market and the Ministry for the excellent cooperation. The procurements we are signing fundamentally change the operational capability of the Fire Service and the young people entering the Service should be proud that the State can now provide them with state-of-the-art equipment. The biggest part of the AEGIS program has been completed, but much bigger contracts are coming, massive supplies of heavy equipment for the Fire Service, which the PPF has already started working on. Our goal is that at the end of 2025, Greece will be another country in the field of civil protection. Thank you very much for the trust, as you have greatly honored us by choosing us for the implementation of such contracts. For us, AEGIS is the beacon for the next day of TAIPED which, within the large umbrella of the Superfund, emerges as a key partner of the Greek State for the implementation of large projects of strategic importance”.
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