From August 1, 2023, the current Head of the Civil Protection Department, Colonel Ivars Nakurts, has been appointed Deputy Head of the State Fire and Rescue Service. He will be responsible for fire safety supervision, civil protection and prevention.
“Already now, in the field of civil protection, fire safety monitoring and prevention, work is underway on the implementation of important strategic development projects, such as the implementation of a unified fire safety and civil protection platform, cell broadcasting, digitalization of monitoring processes, etc. projects. Therefore, my priority as the official responsible for this area is to promote projects from an idea to a reality that will provide significant growth in areas important to public safety. Along with this, it is necessary to promote the understanding of the population about everyone's responsibility and impact on the overall level of public safety in Latvia. Safety is not something that is provided by the state or local government. Safety starts with each person and their responsible and thoughtful actions in everyday life,” emphasizes I. Nakurts, Deputy Chief of the State Fire and Rescue Service.
The priorities of the new Deputy Chief of the State Fire and Rescue Service will also be related to promoting public involvement in the implementation of civil protection activities, as well as creating a public safety culture and developing preparedness and correct behavior in the event of various threats. An important area of activity will be the promotion of closer cooperation with municipalities in the field of civil protection and disaster management, as well as strengthening their capacity. The efficiency of fire safety supervision work will be promoted by increasing the competence of State Fire and Rescue Service officials and the implementation of planned development projects, which will allow the fire safety supervision process to be further based on risk analysis and digitalized.
Ivars Nakurts has a higher education in chemistry and occupational safety. He began to serve in the State Fire and Rescue Service in 2004 at the Civil Protection Department, but since 2018 he has been the head of this department. He has extensive knowledge and experience in the international field – participation in various courses and exercises of the European Community Civil Protection Mechanism, NATO and the ANO.