With temperatures rising and forests growing drier in recent years, wildfires have become the great seasonal challenge for European civil protection. So, what does it take to be truly prepared for a wildfire season in Europe? As with all disaster response operations, time is the most valuable resource.
The emergency response coordination centre's (ERCC) wildfire support team therefore start its annual preparations months before the first heatwave strikes Europe.
Duty officers on 24/7 watch
Mihail is one of 8 duty officers who ensure 24/7 response readiness in our headquarters in Brussels. If a Member State or participating country requires support in fighting wildfires, it can trigger the EU civil protection mechanism, and when it does so, aid coordination must start without delay.
Behind every summer response lies months of preparation – from wildfire workshops and exercises to procedure reviews – turning summer into a season of responsibility, solidarity, and action.
The duty officers therefore play an essential role in initiating the EU’s coordinated response.
Expert support for wildfire operations
In addition to the duty officers, the wildfire support team also consists of 25 experts who join the ERCC on a rotating bi-weekly basis. So, who are these experts and how do they support the team?
In essence, the experts:
- monitor wildfire developments across Europe
- provide their collective expertise and specialised knowledge, particularly during deployments involving the European civil protection pool or rescEU assets
The expert support is made up of 15 national experts and 10 experts from ARISTOTLE. While duty officers work throughout the year, the complete wildfire support team, including the experts, is active between June and September.
National experts from across Europe
The 15 national experts come from 13 different countries: Greece, Spain, Romania, Germany, Austria, France, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Sweden, and Italy as well as participating countries (Türkiye, Montenegro, and Norway).
These experts - nominated by their respective home countries - provide in-depth analyses to aid in timely decision-making on deployment and coordination.
My work here means contributing, being part of a collective effort in which European solidarity is transformed to practical assistance for people when they need it most.
Scientists from the ARISTOTLE partnership
The 10 remaining experts are part of the ARISTOTLE-ENHSP Project (European Natural Hazards Scientific Partnership). These scientists:
- share their knowledge on wildfire development and hazard analysis
- support the monitoring and analysis activities of the ERCC and its situational awareness sector (SAS), thanks to their combined expertise
- provide continuous, global, multi-hazard scientific advice on a 24/7 operational basis
- identify optimal opportunities to deploy firefighting assets where fires are most extreme or where calls for assistance have been made
The long-term nature of the cooperation project between ARISTOTLE and the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations enables not only informed emergency response today, but also ensures that data and operation results contribute to learnings for the future.
We help mitigate and prevent risk by learning from the past to build a safer future, because those who ignore history are bound to repeat it
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This page was last reviewed on 9 July 2026