On the night of 27 to 28 September 2025, a applicable part of the “Night, three-stage, integrated exercise was carried out in Bydgoszcz, which played a combination of forces and measures in the threat of the flood of Nizina Łęgnowsko-Otorowska”. The organizer of the task was the Department of Emergency Management of the City of Bydgoszcz.
Soldiers 8 K-PBOT during night flood drills in Bydgoszcz, fot. WOT
The script assumed the occurrence of an emergency water level harm in Włocławek and the emergence of an upturn wave on Wisła, threatening Bydgoszcz. In the face of the incoming water, the task of WOT soldiers in cooperation with another services was to defend against flooding the Chemwik sewage treatment plant.
Multiple-step exercise
The first phase included the emergency transport of large amounts of flood protection measures from the warehouse in Chełmno to Bydgoszcz.
Soldiers of the 8th Kujawsko-Pomorskie Territorial Defence Brigade (8 K-PBOT) were liable for carrying out transports, and were convoyed by officers of the Military Gendarmerie Branch in Bydgoszcz. The area around the treatment plant was secured by the Municipal Police office in Bydgoszcz.
Soldiers 8 K-PBOT during night flood drills in Bydgoszcz, fot. WOT
The second phase is the theoretical part preparing for the exercise. In the 3rd stage, integrated intervention forces operated in the treatment plant. The construction of various flood dams was practically practiced. Various techniques and forces and resources were used, ranging from manual work of officers and soldiers utilizing simple tools, by laying hesco bastion elements, to preparing large bags with sand. They were carried utilizing a forklift and a carrier line suspended under a helicopter.
Multi-service interaction
Many institutions, including government and local government administration centres (including the Provincial and Bydgoszcz Emergency Management Centre), the State Fire Department in Bydgoszcz, the Volunteer Fire Department Fordon, soldiers of the 8th Battalion of Radioelectronic Combat with Grudziądz (8 bwre), the Air peculiar Operations Unit (PJOS) and the Chemwik Cleaners, participated in the activities in the treatment plant. Many private operators supported the exercise.
Soldiers 8 of K-PBOT were responsible, among others, for displaying the lighting mast, preparing and transporting large bags (shared with the Fire Department and soldiers 8 bwre), as well as securing the sanitary facilities for all participants. large bag transport with sand under the chopper secured PJOS.
Experience with real actions
The exercise in Bydgoszcz was a direct mention to Operation Pk. Phoenix, during which soldiers 8 K-PBOT removed the effects of flooding in the south of Poland last year. At that time, they supplied drinking water from tanks, prepared meals in field kitchens, and built emergency floodbanks. In the further stages of the operation, they helped to remove the effects of devastating flooding.
Soldiers 8 K-PBOT during night flood drills in Bydgoszcz, fot. WOT
"My soldiers present utilized the priceless experiences they gained a year ago with the aid of the people affected by the flood in confederate Poland as part of Operation Pek. Phoenix. What has been done to aid residents in a real natural disaster, we are present moving in cooperation with another services to the reality of our permanent area of responsibility, which is the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship. Ensuring the safety of the population is simply a precedence for us. This is why we are training and training, and this is yet another exercise in the field of crisis consequence and management in which we participate this year" - said Colonel Marcin Dojaś, commander of the 8th K-PBOT.
Continuity of training and future proposals
Exercise in Bydgoszcz is the next phase of the year-round cycle of emergency consequence training of WOT soldiers. akin tasks of 8 K-PBOT were carried out, among others, in Ciechocinek, where water intakes were protected and buildings were protected from flooding.
Each of these projects brings fresh conclusions and experiences which, in the event of a real threat, may prove crucial to the protection of the wellness and life of the inhabitants.
WOT crisis management mission
With the entry into force of the Home defence Act, the WOT was entrusted with an unmilitary part of its crisis management tasks in the Ministry of National Defence. The commander of the WOT became the Head of the MON Emergency Management Centre, while the commanders of the OT Brigade became the right hand of the voivodes in coordinating and implementing the support the military can provide.
Text: Captain Paul Banasiak
