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France requested the assistance of allies and partners through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, and Romania offered firefighting troops to assist.

said General Daniel Petrescu, Chief of Defense Staff of the Romanian Armed Forces.

As we did in the past with other emergencies, we decided to use a fraction of the national share within Strategic Aircraft Capability and requested transport air support from Papa Airbase from Hungary. We chose this option because it was the fastest one available. C-17 Globemaster III is a proper capability that could fit the personnel and the firetrucks and accompanying equipment.

he added.

The SAC aircraft are again proving to be an agile and capable asset for Member Nation Romania. Two SAC C-17s were on their way to Romania from Papa Air Base to pick up firefighters and equipment within seven hours of receiving a request to assist. This made it possible for Romanian firefighters to join French fire crews in directly combatting the wildfires within only 15 hours from the SAC receiving a request.

SAC multinational crews transported four firetrucks, a support vehicle and 25 firefighters yesterday and will transport more equipment and personnel today.

Photo: Romanian Firefighter Service - Alexandru Badea

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