Albania is exposed to a wide array of natural and man-made hazards and risks which include floods, fires, earthquakes, droughts, and industrial accidents. The Albanian Fire Protection & Rescue Service (AFPRS) is the primary operational search and rescue workforce in standby and ready-for-deployment, both in single small-scale incidents and in larger-scale disaster events, and a service delegated to local governments in the framework of the reform changes brought by the Territorial and Administrative Reform. 

The earthquake event of 26 November 2019 was the most recent major disaster for Albania. Besides the damage it caused, the November 2019 earthquake provided Albania a unique opportunity to reflect on how to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience at all levels in the future. The events that followed the earthquake, including the conclusion of the Post-disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report, showed that there is an urgent need to strengthen disaster preparedness, adopt adequate rescue and response systems and procedures, and improve the capacity of firefighting services. Such capacities must become functional across the government to save lives, livelihoods, and sustain development gains.

The proposed intervention, made possible by the contribution of the Government of Poland and developed in partnership with UNDP, is fully in line with sectoral priorities and needs and in the spirit of the national action for enhancing the effectiveness and performance of the decentralized firefighting service. Support to strengthening the AFPRS is in line with the National Cross-cutting Decentralization and Local Government Strategy, the application of the Law 152/2015 “On Fire Protection and Rescue Service” as well as with Law 45/2019 ‘On Civil Protection”.

The proposed intervention is two-fold: standard capacity building for the firefighting teams of 10 selected municipalities, encompassing 45% of the total population of Albania, and material and equipment support benefiting eight municipalities providing services to 25% of the total population. The selection of municipalities has taken into consideration the priorities of the AFPRS and the intensity of impact caused by the November 2019 earthquake. As a result, the proposed benefitting municipal firefighting services include those of Durres, Fier, Kamza, Kavaja, Kruja, Kurbin, Lezha, Pogradec, Shijak, and Tirana.