Competition for the project of the firefighters' training center in Hradec

Hradec Králové - The General Directorate of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has announced a competition for project documentation and securing the issuance of a zoning decision for the construction of a giant training center in Hradec Králové. The estimated value of the contract is 16.7 million crowns excluding value-added tax. The total value of the entire base is about 1.8 billion crowns. Of this, 85 percent should be paid by the European Union.
    The center, named the Academy of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic, is to be built at the Hradec Králové airport. It is expected to be operational from 2015. A modern training base is currently missing for rescuers in the Czech Republic, and according to firefighters, the Czech Republic is the last country in the EU without such a center.
    The main part of the base will be a training polygon that will allow the practice of crisis situation management and emergencies under real conditions. To simulate accidents, builders will erect a piece of railway and highway, including a tunnel. Firefighters will practice interventions in a burning house, shopping center, industrial facility, the disposal of hazardous materials in sewers and pipelines, as well as rescuing people from wells, collapses, and debris of buildings.
    Part of the center, which will utilize the existing barracks at the airport, will also include an educational component for all components of the integrated rescue system. The Institute of Population Protection will move from Lázně Bohdaneč to the center. The center will also have research capacities and specialized laboratories, for example, for chemists. In this regard, firefighters intend to cooperate with universities in Hradec Králové and Pardubice.
    In 2011, the project is expected to undergo an environmental impact assessment (EIA), obtain a zoning decision, and receive approval at the national level. During the first half of 2012, it should receive final approval from the European Commission. The center could have a building permit by mid-2012, and construction is expected to take place in 2013 and 2014.