Rome Capital Bolsters Firefighting Fleet with Five New Vehicles

Five new firefighting vehicles for Rome Capital: they were presented on April 15th at the Civil Protection department in the presence of Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and the Environmental Councillor Sabrina Alfonsi. Along with them were also present the director of the civil protection of Rome Capital, Giuseppe Napolitano, and the director of the Environmental Protection department, Giuseppe Sorrentino. The new vehicles cost about 450 thousand euros. In the past years, the fleet had at its disposal only one tanker truck and one civil protection vehicle: with this purchase, a second multifunction Graelion vehicle plus four pick-up trucks equipped with extinguishing equipment are added. The Graelion has a capacity of 3,000 liters of water and is equipped with two independent cannons, assisted by control cameras and manageable with two separate joysticks directly from the driving cabin, ensuring maximum safety for the operators. The vehicle was designed and engineered for dynamic interventions in complex contexts, also being able to operate at night, thanks to a lighthouse tower. Meanwhile, the pick-ups have 400 liters of water available. All vehicles will be entrusted to volunteer civil protection organizations in agreement with the Capital. Another intervention (the framework agreement is worth 3 million euros) in collaboration with the CSIMU Department then provides for the maintenance, restoration, and expansion of the fire hydrant network. 'The risk of having only one vehicle was unsustainable, we decided to make a quality leap from one to six vehicles,' declares the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, adding that 'already last year with the enhancement of hydrants, the water capacity for extinguishing and the first work with drones, we had a reduction in fires of over 38% compared to 2022.' While for the Environmental Councillor Alfonsi 'with a changing climate, the increase in temperatures and the phenomenon of drought, prevention takes on a fundamental relevance.' The importance of a prevention campaign was also discussed by the director of the Civil Protection of Rome Giuseppe Napolitano, present together with Giuseppe Sorrentino, director of the Environmental Protection department of the Capital.