First Responders Hail Multi Agency Wildfire Exercise In Wicklow Mountains National Park

Wicklow County Council, as part of a European consortium, hosted Ireland’s first EU MODEX simulation exercise on Wednesday 26th March 2025, in County Wicklow.

The EU MODEX exercise is a wild land and forest fire advisory mission to test Irish procedures and evaluate Ireland’s capacity to prepare for and manage large forest fires.  It is also an opportunity to share best international practices in the response to wild land and forest fires.

This multi-agency exercise involved over 250 participants from Ireland and other EU member states, simulating a wildfire scenario near Turlough Hill in the Wicklow Mountains National Park.

The Wicklow event was part of a week-long EU MODEX exercise organised by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) working with Wicklow County Council as part of a European consortium.

 As part of Wednesday’s exercise, an on-site coordination centre was established at the Brockagh Resource Centre in Laragh, facilitating direct interactions among participants including: Air Corps Ops, Civil Defence, Coast Guard Ops, Coillte Forestry Managers and NPWS.

Various fire trucks and personnel from the Kildare, Wexford, and Laois fire brigades attended, including three emergency helicopters at Lough Dan involved in aerial firefighting.

Additionally, a Regional Coordination Centre was set up in the Wicklow County Council Buildings, involving participants from An Garda Síochána, Kildare Fire Service, Civil Defence, Dublin Fire Service, Health Service Executive, Maynooth University and Uisce Éireann as well as support personnel from other Local Authorities in the East Region.