Integration of Firefighters Into The Civil Defense Structures
Gheorghe Pohrib expanded the responsibility of the firefighters to other types of rescue operations. In 1928, the International Committee of the Red Cross raised for the first time the issue of creating structures in charge of the protection of civilian population against chemical attacks and of preparing regulations to deal with such events. A special commission for the study and proposal of measures for civil defense was instituted by order No. 513 of June 21, 1928 of the Ministry of War. The commission included colonel Gheorghe Pohrib, head of the firefighter department, colonel George E. Popescu, head of the department of defense against chemical warfare as well as representatives of various concerned ministries. After one year the commission presented its conclusions to the Council of Ministers who, on October 25, 1929, approved the proposed instructions, to which colonel Gheorghe Pohrib had contributed to a significant extent. This is the first legislation in Romania which created an organization for the protection of the civilian population in case of an armed conflict.
Colonel Gheorghe Pohrib had an essential contribution in preparing the legislation for civil defense (called “passive defense” at that time). Law No. 1245 of 1933 and Royal Decree 468 of February 28, 1933 defined the responsibilities of the firefighters in preparation, mitigation and response in civil defense operations. As a result, the military firefighter unit were provided with special machinery, equipment, accessories and materials required for saving people trapped under wrecked buildings, for decontamination of poisonous gases, for the destruction of unexploded bombs, for alerting the population and for medical first aid. The day of promulgation of the Decree, February 28, has since been declared the “Day of Civil Defense”.
Colonel Gheorghe Pohrib continued his efforts to ensure the legal provisions required for the activities of the firefighters and was able to convince the authorities to approve Law 815 of April 3, 1936 for the Organization of the Corps of Military Firefighters.
Pohrib retired in 1937 after having been commander of the Romanian military firefighters for over 17 years, the longest interval any firefighter chief ever held the position. The organization he set was to be tested and to prove its efficiency a few years after his retirement, in the years of World War II.
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