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Project stories 4. Underwater, every second counts…

Project stories 4. Underwater, every second counts…

31.10.2025

Let’s explore another story from the “Project stories” series – a collection showcasing the people who implement projects or benefit from their results.

Each story highlights individuals, places, and actions that – with the support of the Interreg NEXT Poland – Ukraine 2021-2027 Programme – bring lasting improvements to the daily lives of border region residents and enhance the experience for visiting tourists.
We hope these stories will inspire new cross-border initiatives.

Enjoy another inspiring story!

They were brought together by water, or rather the proximity of lakes, similar challenges and needs – firefighters from the Augustów-Lipowiec Volunteer Firefighters Unit and the Ukrainian State Emergency Service from the Lutsk branch are jointly participating in the HydroGuard project. It is implemented under the ENVIRONMENT priority and has a budget of almost 2 MEUR.

We met our colleagues from Ukraine when the war broke out. We rushed to help, recalls Zbysław Kurczyński, chairman of the Augustów-Lipowiec Volunteer Firefighters Unit, about the beginnings of their friendship. We met many times and it turned out that we have a lot in common, including lakes. We decided to raise funds for both equipment and specialist training useful in regions such as ours.

The project partners on both sides of the border have lakes in their immediate vicinity: rescuers from Ukraine – the so-called Shatsk Lakes, the largest of which is Lake Svitiaz with an area of over 26 km², the second largest in Ukraine, while firefighters from Augustów have as many as nine lakes in their neighbourhood. The largest of these is Lake Sajno, with an area of over 500 ha.  

Skills are needed

This is not the first project we have carried out together with the Volunteer Firefighters Brigade, but it is the first international one, says Marta Wojtkiewicz-Dzienis, project coordinator and head of the Strategy and External Funds Department at the Augustów Town Hall.

In addition to purchasing specialised rescue and firefighting equipment, the HydroGuard project also involves direct meetings between project partners, such as conferences, family picnics and, above all, specialist training courses.

Both we and our partners from Ukraine wanted to acquire diving skills, which are very helpful in rescue operations in areas with many bodies of water, explains Zbysław Kurczyński. We already have water rescuers in our Volunteer Firefighters Unit, and we wanted to expand our competencies with a larger number of divers, he says, adding that he himself intends to take part in the training. I have basic P1 certification, up to 20 metres. I would like to obtain further certifications, such as FAD (PPP1) – First Aid in Diving, ND (PNO) – Night Diver, DN (PNA) – Diver Navigator and DSD (PSS) – Dry Suit Diver.

Underwater, everything is different

Diving training for representatives of both partners takes place at Lake Białe and in the deepest body of water in Poland – Lake Hańcza. However, diving novices take their first steps in Augustów.

Course participants will learn the basics of equipment handling, movement and communication underwater, as well as safe behaviour for themselves and others.

Underwater, everything is different. Searching one metre on the surface takes a moment, but underwater it takes much longer, explains instructor Michał Batorski. Just putting on 30 kilograms of equipment takes time, and then you have to adjust to a completely different reality, with different visibility – you have to learn all of that.

Today is hard, yesterday was easier, sighs one of the Augustów firemen after a few minutes at the bottom of the lake.

The crisis will come tomorrow. The third day is the worst, explains the instructor. It’s not an easy task for the body, there is a lot of strain, which is felt most strongly on the third day of the course.

Why do firefighters need diving training?
Instructor Batorski has no doubts.

In my opinion, in such a region, with so many lakes, diving skills are necessary, he says with conviction. The Volunteer Fire Brigade is a great support for the national rescue system. Since it helps on land and on water, it can also help underwater.

Unfortunately, we already have such experiences, confirms chairman Kurczyński. Whether it’s a raft or a boat capsizing. Let’s hope there are as few such incidents as possible, but it’s good to be prepared for underwater searches.

To quickly reach victims

In the HydroGuard project, partners from both countries, in addition to training and conferences, also plan to purchase rescue and firefighting equipment. Rescuers from Ukraine will receive, i.a., fully equipped diving stations, a fire engine, water scooters, hydroacoustic communication station sets and underwater lighting stations. The Augustów Volunteer Firefighters Unit has already purchased the equipment planned in the project, including a fire engine, a rescue boat and specialised diving suits. One of the most interesting purchases is the Polaris UTV quad bike – the first in Poland with such equipment. It has 4×4 drive, a winch, a power bank, a snow plough and the ability to wade in water up to 45 cm deep. The three-person crew can carry drones, torches and charging stations, which facilitates the search for missing persons.

The vehicle is useful in fires, boat launches, securing marathons or MTB competitions in our forests, in difficult-to-reach areas. We can quickly reach victims in virtually all conditions and on any terrain, and thanks to the Internet connection, we can send images from the scene to the command centre, says Mateusz Wasilewski, head of the Augustów-Lipowiec Volunteer Firefighters Unit.

Importantly, the vehicle may become one of the first privileged UTVs in Poland – previously, such machines were registered as agricultural tractors.

What else is in the pipeline?

We want to continue developing our skills, assures chairman Kurczyński. Next year, we will travel to Ukraine for a three-day training course on water rescue and firefighting in natural ecosystems. Then we will train in searching for missing persons with the use of tracking dogs. And I can reveal that we are seriously considering adding such a four-legged friend to our team in the near future.

We invite you to get acquainted with the project on the website and with other projects under specific objective 1.1 promoting climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention.