Wildfires are increasingly problematic in Europe, with recent unprecedented events causing extensive damage near Wildland-Urban Interface settlements. These fires pose complex civil protection challenges, highlighting a lack of awareness and preparedness among affected communities. Inspired by successful international frameworks like Firewise and FireSmart, FIREPRIME aims to establish an EU-wide program promoting fire resilience in WUI communities. It will develop a toolkit including a smartphone app, guidelines, and educational materials aimed to enhance wildfire resilience in three critical targets: households, communities, and infrastructure. It will be tested in three European regions: Barcelona (Spain), Tyrol (Austria), and Gothenburg (Sweden). The project prioritizes inclusivity and collaboration with local stakeholders to ensure responsiveness to diverse needs. Lessons learned will inform a strategic plan for sustainable project handover and exploitation in other fire-prone European regions.

The two-year project is coordinated by the Center for Technological Risk Studies (CERTEC, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) and has the participation of the Fundació d’Ecologia del Foc and Gestió d’Incendis Pau Costa (PCF), the CareNet group of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3, Open University of Catalonia), the Universitaet Fuer Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU, Austria) and the Rise Research Institutes (RISE, Sweden). FIREPRIME is funded by the European Commission and the DG ECHO (European Civil Protection Authority).

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Funding Body: European Commission, DG ECHO (European Civil Protection Authority)

Start date: 01/02/2024

End date: 31/01/2026

Funds: 673.698 €