Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1536266
ses belonging to a transport compa‑ ny could have been requisitioned for military use. However, these are only partially di‑ scussed legal foundations that must be fleshed out by executive regula‑ tions, institutions, organizations, and the people forming them. It is already possible, though, to indica‑ te what the potential shape of the system might be, at least in the broadest outline, especially regar‑ ding the threat of a full‑scale war. Considering that any war threat, if it arrives, would come from Rus‑ sia, the border voivodeships would be the front zone. Thus, the prio‑ rity would be, first and foremost, the evacuation of civilians, cultural property, and other valuable resour‑ ces, and creating as much freedom of action as possible for the armed forces. The deeper and further from the border, the less likely a threat from Russian ground forces, but air and missile strikes would certainly be expected, as might sabotage ac‑ tions. All this poses a range of chal‑ lenges for the various parts of the population‑protection system and its supporting infrastructure – to‑ pics for the next issue. In this way, we have discussed the le‑ gal foundations of the re‑established civil defence introduced by the Act on Protection of the Population and the State of Natural Disaster. That, however, is only one side of the coin. The other is filling the legal frame‑ work with substance – that is, the resources necessary to respond to likely threats. Since the population‑protection and civil‑defense system does not replace but supplements other exi‑ sting systems, it should be treated as an additional layer in the security architecture. Alongside it are other important layers. Legal Foundations and the Need for Substance The first are uniformed and rescue services acting according to the‑ ir tasks and powers. The second is the crisis‑management system. The third is the anti‑terrorism system, to which one should add other, les‑ ser‑known and –highlighted security systems. These relationships can be easily illustrated with fires. A burning barn is a threat that volunteer and professional fire brigades, using an appropriate number of firefighting vehicles and firefighters, should handle. If people are injured in the fire, medical rescue teams will treat them, and if arson is suspected, the police will conduct their work after extinction. In the case of a large fire, covering, say, a forest complex adjacent to a housing estate, more entities will be involved and it will constitute a crisis. Extinguishing the fire will be only part of the problem, for which firefighters and foresters (including State Forest‑contracted water‑ ‑bombing aircraft) are responsible – if the danger forces evacuation, then crisis‑management bodies at the commune or county level must assist in evacuation and preparing accommodation (for example in a school). It may also be necessary to close communal or county roads, both due to fire risk and to facilitate firefighting – with further consequ‑ ences for crisis‑management autho‑ rities. The population‑protection system, in turn, encompasses broader re‑ sources, not only state services and institutions but also population‑ ‑protection entities including NGOs, businesses, and other structures. Thus, additional forces and means can be deployed. Sticking with the www.fragoutmag.com