As part of the Erasmus+ programme, cadets from the Fire University participated in a week-long mobility in France, visiting the École nationale supérieure des officiers de sapeurs-pompiers (ENSOSP) and the École d’Application de la Sécurité Civile (ECASC).
The first day focused on the French firefighter education system. The cadets visited classrooms and a command simulation centre where future fire officers develop incident management skills. They also explored realistic training environments replicating locations where emergency medical assistance may be required, including an apartment, a bus stop and a skatepark. The day concluded with a visit to the ENSOSP training ground in Vitrolles, where they observed practical exercises and toured its extensive training facilities, including residential buildings, a motorway section and specialised fire training structures.
On the second day, the cadets attended a meeting of Ground Forest Fire Fighting (GFFF) module leaders from Greece, Slovakia, Italy and Romania as part of the preparations for the Preposition 2026 exercise. They learned about the equipment and vehicles used by the different modules, discussed the characteristics of wildfires in southern France and were introduced to an innovative 4G/5G communication system that will support future firefighting operations.
The following day, the group visited ECASC, where they participated in a wildfire command simulation exercise together with GFFF module leaders. They also experienced a virtual reality simulator recreating critical situations encountered during forest firefighting operations. In the afternoon, they visited the Centre Zonal Opérationnel de Crise (CZOC) in Marseille to learn about operational coordination, available emergency resources and the preparation of weather maps supporting wildfire response.
During the final days of the mobility, the cadets took part in practical training exercises at the ENSOSP training ground alongside future French fire officers. The scenarios included residential building fires, a basement fire, road traffic collisions involving both a car and a motorcycle, and multi-agency emergency response exercises carried out together with ambulance services.
The mobility provided an excellent opportunity to broaden the cadets' knowledge, exchange professional experience and gain valuable insight into the organisation and operational procedures of the French fire and rescue services. The experience will undoubtedly contribute to their future professional development while further strengthening international cooperation under the Erasmus+ programme.
