Introduction

The basic function of the Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County Directorate for Disaster Management, (BAZ CDDM), is protecting the lives and the property of the population living in the county and insuring the safe operation of the national economy and protecting the elements of the critical infrastructure, which is a highly important public safety task. BAZ CDDM is a law enforcement body with a regional competence.

Its main mission is preventing disasters as an authority; carrying out rescue operations in civil emergencies; organizing and controlling protection activities; eliminating the negative consequences of emergencies and performing reconstruction and rehabilitation.

In order to fulfill its function:

 1.    It possesses a wide range of industrial safety, fire safety and civil protection authoritative competences: regulates, permits, prohibits, restricts, controls and sanctions. In order toprevent emergencies it coordinates the activities of other authorities.

 2.   It has county and local professional organizations, voluntary and obligated civil protection bodies, a large pool of equipment, a well-established logistics background. It effectuates investment and property management. It possesses important competences in identifying and monitoring the critical infrastructure in the County , and in civil emergency planning, in defense/protection administration.

 3.   It regulates and directly commands and controls the county level fire protection system. Its local on-call professional bodies perform firefighting and conduct technical rescue operations, protect, inform and alert the population. It controls the participation of municipal and industrial fire brigades, and voluntary fire associations in firefighting and technical rescue operations. It effectuates the county level deployment control.

 4.    It runs an up-to-date telecommunications network, a deployment control and IT systems.

 5.    It cooperates with other law enforcement bodies, the Hungarian Defense Forces municipalities and other authorities ensuring public safety.

 6.    It maintains relations with non-governmental and charitable organizations, with their federations, and primarily with the local media.