"Unfortunately, our volunteer firefighters have only very old firefighting equipment at their disposal. We therefore welcome Unipetrol's gift, which will help us purchase a brand new fire truck and thus improve the equipment of the fire station. I believe that this is another step towards a longer-term cooperation with Unipetrol in the field of safety and crisis management," Kamila Bláhová, Mayor of Litvínov, explains the situation.
The Volunteer Fire Brigade Unit of the City of Litvínov has two fire trucks. The Karosa was manufactured in 1976 and can no longer be safely used during fire interventions. The newer Liaz is from 1988 and the city of Litvínov spends considerable amounts of money every year on its maintenance and repairs.
"We are pleased that Unipetrol will contribute to helping the Litvínov Volunteer Fire Brigade to intervene with new modern equipment. And we hope the truck will be available to them soon," adds Tomáš Herink, a member of the Board of Directors of the Unipetrol Group responsible for health and process safety management and fire brigade.
The Volunteer Fire Brigade Unit of the City of Litvínov was founded nineteen years ago in 1999 and builds on the long tradition of Litvínov firefighters whose parent organization, the Czech Volunteer Fire Brigade, was established 94 years ago in 1924. The current Litvínov unit has 14 members. The unit intervenes in the administrative area of Litvínov and, at the instruction of the Regional Operational and Information Center of the Fire Rescue Corps, according to the plan of coverage of the Ústí nad Labem Region as well. The city unit works closely with all units of the IRS located in the administrative area of Litvínov, a municipality with extended powers. Its partners are the Fire Brigade of the Ústí nad Labem Region, as well as the in-house Unipetrol Fire Brigade, which is responsible for safety on the premises of the chemical plant in Záluží u Litvínova and actively participates in managing dangerous situations outside the premises.
The Unipetrol Group is the largest refinery and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses primarily on crude oil processing, distribution and sale of fuel and petrochemical products — particularly plastics and fertilisers. In all these fields, the group is a key player on both the Czech and Central European market. The Unipetrol Group includes refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo with the Mogul brand in Pardubice and Kolín, Spolana in Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. Unipetrol also owns the Benzina network of petrol stations with 406 stations, which is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. The group created revenue of over CZK 122 billion last year and employs more than 4600 people. In 2005, Unipetrol became part of the PKN Orlen Group, the largest crude oil processor in Central Europe.