The inauguration of the Epeisses barracks marks the end of the redeployment of the army to Geneva.
Photo: KEYSTONE/MARTIAL TREZZINI
The Geneva population was able to discover the Epeisses (GE) exercise place on Saturday. The place is dedicated to rescue during disasters. It covers 17 hectares and is the training center for rescue troops (CITS 76).
The place and its modular installations depending on the requirements of the exercises are open to the military as well as to representatives of the police forces, firefighters and civil protection of the canton of Geneva, indicates in a press release the department of institutions and digital (DIN).
The inauguration of the Epeisses barracks marks the end of the redeployment of the army to Geneva. The operation lasted less than 10 years. It all started with the first projects aimed at liberating the Vernets barracks. Three major buildings were built to meet the needs of the armed forces.
From now on, recalls the DIN, Aire-la-Ville hosts the civil and military logistics center, Meyrin houses a troop parking building and Epeisses brings together the barracks and the exercise place. The joint use of infrastructure by military and civilian formations is ‘unique in Switzerland’.
Realistic decors
In Epeisses, the village is made up of realistic settings. They represent destroyed homes as they were observed at the numerous intervention sites of the Swiss Rescue Chain as well as homes transformed into rubble due to the war.
The site also has a simulator for large fires. Called Vulcain, this machine offers various scenario possibilities for fighting urban or industrial fires, notes the DIN.
On Saturday, the public was able to attend various demonstrations allowing them to better understand the role of the different actors in rescue after a disaster.
/ATS
