The establishment of the National Service of Civil Protection

On 24 February 1992, with the approval of law n. 225, the civil protection process was established with the establishment of the National Service which has the task of "protecting the integrity of life, property, settlements and the environment from damage or the danger of damage resulting from natural disasters, catastrophes and other calamitous events".

The civil protection becomes a coordinated system of competences involving state administrations, regions, provinces, municipalities and other local bodies, public bodies, the scientific community, volunteers, professional orders and colleges and any other institution in the national territory.

Law n. 225 represents a moment of transition between the centralized and decentralized phases: the operational competences remain with the central and peripheral administration of the State, but for the first time the weight of the Regions, Provinces and Municipalities increases considerably, especially with regard to forecasting and prevention.

Volunteers represent one of the components and operational structures of the National Service as a means to ensure wide participation of citizens and voluntary civil protection organizations in the activities of forecasting, prevention and rescue.

The Civil Protection Department plays a coordinating and guiding role which it exercises also through fundamental "spaces of comparison and sharing of rules": the collegial bodies.

Foto: Immagine di un Comitato Operativo della Protezione Civile degli anni Novanta