POMPIERS DE L'URGENCE INTERNATIONALE

Their core work

Pompiers de l'Urgence Internationale (PUI) is a French NGO of international emergency firefighters based in Limoges, specializing in disaster response, search and rescue operations, and wildfire management. In H2020 projects, they bring frontline operational expertise — the perspective of first responders who actually deploy in crisis situations. Their contribution bridges the gap between technology developers and real-world emergency use, particularly in collapsed structure rescue and large-scale forest fire prevention, detection, and post-disaster restoration.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

PUI entered H2020 in 2020 with a traditional focus on crisis management and first responder technologies (Search and Rescue project). By 2021, their participation shifted decisively toward wildfire-specific challenges — forest landscape management, AI-based fire detection, big-data frameworks, and post-fire restoration. This evolution reflects both the growing urgency of wildfire crises in Europe and PUI's expansion from reactive disaster response toward preventive and restorative environmental management.

PUI is moving from pure emergency response toward technology-augmented wildfire prevention and ecosystem restoration — expect them to seek projects combining AI, remote sensing, and operational firefighting expertise.

How they like to work

PUI operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as an operational end-user organization rather than a research leader. With 128 unique partners across 27 countries from just 3 projects, they work in very large consortia (typical for security and disaster management Innovation Actions). This broad network suggests they are well-connected in the European civil protection ecosystem and comfortable contributing specialized field expertise within large, multi-disciplinary teams.

Despite only 3 projects, PUI has collaborated with 128 unique partners across 27 countries — a remarkably wide network driven by the large consortia typical of security and disaster management calls. Their reach spans most of the EU and associated countries.

What sets them apart

PUI brings something rare to EU project consortia: they are actual firefighters and emergency responders, not researchers studying emergencies from a distance. This gives them credibility as end-users who can validate technologies under real operational conditions. For any consortium building a proposal around disaster response, wildfire management, or civil protection technology, PUI offers the authentic practitioner perspective that reviewers look for.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SILVANUS
  Largest funding share (EUR 460,750) in a major integrated wildfire management platform combining AI, big data, citizen engagement, and 3D forest modeling.
• TREEADS
  Addresses the full fire management cycle from prevention through detection to ecosystem restoration, reflecting PUI's expanding scope beyond immediate emergency response.