Emergency services

First drafted in May 1988, the Or.Mo.Se Plan (Monegasque Emergency Unit) is designed to facilitate the mobilisation and deployment of exceptional resources when the emergency services risk being overwhelmed by the scale of a technological or natural disaster. For this purpose, it lists the public and private resources likely to be deployed and defines the conditions for their use by the appropriate authority.

It is deployed by the Minister of State (or by the Government Councillor-Minister on duty), who undertakes the general management of operations, and is supported by the CNGC's nine units (Crisis, Director Generals, Rescue and Relief, Mutual Aid Medical Care, Police & Traffic Control, Environment and Urban Planning, Press, Urban Development and Concession Companies, City Hall). The Palace Guards are responsible for the CNGC's logistics, which must be accessible and operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

It is a predetermined action strategy for dealing with a sudden event that results or could result in many victims. Resources are deployed in stages according to the number of victims.

This plan responds to the danger of an aircraft crash, essentially linked to activity at the heliport. Most helicopter activity takes place in the vicinity of the base. However, overflight of inhabited areas is occasionally authorised under urgent circumstances. The plan also applies in the event of a forced landing in territorial waters.

The POLMAR Plan is designed to combat small-scale pollution likely to reach the Monegasque coastline. The narrow channels of Monegasque waters and the proximity to French waters necessitate a mutual exchange of information with the French services from the early warning stage onwards. In the event of major pollution off the coast, international cooperation is essential.

The POLMAR Plan can also be activated as part of the RAMOGEPOL Plan.

This plan responds to the risks associated with toxic substances and the consequences that may arise from any contamination. It involves the use of specific detection and collective decontamination equipment and is coordinated by the same authority, using an identical response method.

The "SECNAV" shipwreck rescue plan sets out the organisation of maritime and land rescue operations to be implemented as soon as a vessel indicates that an incident on board will require the evacuation of passengers and/or the recovery of victims from the water. It outlines the measures to be taken, the rescue resources to be deployed and the tasks to be carried out by all personnel involved in rescue at sea and the reception of victims on land.

The bi-national structure of the Rainier III road tunnel led to an agreement between the Principality and France regarding safety in the tunnel. The agreement provides for drafting a joint plan, specifying the services to be alerted and the procedures to be followed, liaising with the relevant units, yet prioritising giving help to any victims.

In October 2010, France and the Principality of Monaco decided to draw up a bi-national emergency plan for the SNCF tunnel, as had been done for the Rainier III road tunnel. This plan defines the procedures to be followed by each country in the event of a major accident in the tunnel, specifying the means of communication for coordinating action on the ground.