LIETUVOS RESPUBLIKOS

LIETUVOS RESPUBLIKOS OFFICIAL TRANSLATION REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON CIVIL PROTECTION 15 December 1998 No VIII-971 Vilnius (As last amended on 8 June 2006 – No X-676) SECTION ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS Article

1. Purpose of the Law This Law shall establish the legal and organisational framework for the organisation and functioning of the civil protection and rescue system, the rights and duties of state and municipal institutions, economic entities, public organisations and residents in the sphere of civil protection. Article
2. Definitions
3. “Civil protection” shall mean the activities comprising the preparedness of state and municipal institutions, all economic entities, public organisations and residents for an emergency, actions in the event of occurrence thereof and response thereto, also the use of all resources of the State for the survival of residents, maintaining the viability of the national economy, protection of the property and the environment against the effects of the emergency, with the citizens actively participating in the processes.
4. “Emergency” shall mean a situation caused by natural, technical, ecological or social factors or military actions and posing a sudden and grave hazard to human life or to health, property, nature or causing death and mutilation or property losses.
5. “Disaster” shall mean an event of natural, technical, ecological or social character which has reached or exceeded the established criteria and poses a hazard to man, the physiological or social conditions of his life, property, economy and the environment.
6. “Types of emergency causes” shall be: 1) natural – drastic changes of climatic conditions causing natural disasters, widespread forest and peat-bog fires, geologically hazardous phenomena, especially dangerous or mass epidemics, epizootics, epiphytotics; 2) technical – disorders of various technological processes which cause fires, explosions, discharge of chemical or radioactive effluents, collapse of buildings, transport, energy system, main pipe-line accidents of various types and other disasters likely to happen in industrial objects and communications systems; 3) ecological – factors leading to changes in the condition of the land, composition and properties of the atmosphere, and the state of the hydrosphere; 4) social – mass riots and disturbances, blockades, provocation, subversive activity, acts of terrorism, also military actions in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania or in a neighbouring state.
7. “Disaster criteria” shall mean the physical, chemical or geographical quantities defining the extent and consequences of a disaster, established as a result of observations and calculations or used in international practice, which represent the limits at which or above which the incident shall be considered an emergency. The criteria of an emergency shall be laid down by the Government or an institution authorised by it.
8. “Disaster area” shall mean the territory affected by natural, technical, ecological or social disasters, where fires broke out, buildings or other engineering constructions collapsed, the environment was polluted by radioactive, chemical or biological substances, liquids, gases or aerosols resulting in human casualties or a hazard to human life or health.
9. “Commander of a civil protection operation” shall mean a commander who shall organise, through the heads of civil protection and rescue system institutions, rescue and emergency response operations and mobilise the forces and material resources necessary for carrying out of the operations.
10. “Rescue operations” shall mean reconnaissance of movement routes and rescue sites; suppression and extinguishment of fires on the movement routes and rescue sites; rescue operations above and under water; rescue of traffic accident casualties; localisation and containment of chemical and radiation incidents; search for and rescue of victims from collapsed and burning buildings, crashed aircraft, foundering ships, flooded premises, premises and ruins contaminated with gas and smoke; digging up of destroyed and buried under the rubble shelters and covers, rescue of persons located therein; ensuring the ventilation of shelters buried under the rubble in the event of the filtering-ventilation system disorder; provision of first aid to the victims and their transportation to medical facilities; and relocation of the residents from hazardous areas to lower risk areas.
11. “Other emergency operations” shall mean the laying of roads and passages through ruins and contaminated areas; response to accidents and effects thereof in electricity, water supply, sewage and other technological networks; fortification or pulling down of hazardous constructions and structures obstructing rescue operations or presenting a hazard to man, reconnaissance of unexploded explosives, defusing or destruction of explosives; sanitary treatment of humans and veterinary treatment of animals, decontamination and degassing of clothing, individual protection kit and machinery; decontamination of the contaminated area, structures, food, fodder and water.
12. “Economic entity” shall mean an enterprise registered and operating in the Republic of Lithuania, a subsidiary or representative office of a foreign enterprise.
13. “Hazardous establishment” shall mean the whole area under the control of an operator where, in one or more installations, including related infrastructures or activities, one or more hazardous substances or their waste the amount whereof is equal to or exceeds the fixed marginal amount are constantly or temporarily produced, handled, kept, transhipped, used, stored in warehouses or neutralised. Hydrotechnical constructions shall also be considered hazardous establishments.
14. “Evacuation of residents” shall mean an organised moving the residents at risk to an area of lower risk and providing them with permanent or temporary housing.
15. “Material resources” shall mean immovable property, equipment, installations, building materials and other resources used in accordance with the procedure laid down by laws and other legal acts in the event of emergencies and/or disasters for the purposes of carrying out rescue and emergency response operations.
16. “Installation” shall mean a technical unit within an establishment in which one or more hazardous substances are produced, used, handled, stored in warehouses or neutralised. It shall include all the equipment, pipework, machinery, tools, railway sidings, docks, unloading quays, jetties, warehouses or similar structures, floating or otherwise, necessary for the operation of the installation.
17. “Operator” shall mean the owner or manager of a hazardous establishment.
18. “Commander of rescue operations” shall mean the officer of an institution of the civil protection and rescue system in charge of rescue and emergency response operations on the site of the incident.
19. “Institution responsible for the management of an emergency” shall mean a state institution competent in the area of response to a specific emergency.
20. “Agency” shall mean a legal person engaged in scientific, training, cultural and other non-industrial activities, with the exception of state and municipal institutions and agencies. Article
21. Civil Protection and Rescue System The civil protection and rescue system of the Republic of Lithuania shall comprise: 1) the Government Emergency Commission; 2) the Fire and Rescue Department under the Ministry of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the “Fire and Rescue Department”) and the agencies subordinate thereto; 3) ministries, state and municipal institutions, fire prevention and other civil protection services of municipalities, economic entities and agencies; 4) the environment monitoring and laboratory control network. Article
22. Goals of the Civil Protection and Rescue System The goals of the civil protection and rescue system shall be: 1) to provide conditions for state institutions, economic entities and residents for the transfer from ordinary living (working) conditions to an emergency with the smallest possible losses, for the keeping of order, preservation of human lives, health, property and protection of the environment against the effects of the emergency; 2) to guarantee optimum use of resources of the State in order to ensure public security, maintain the viability of the national economy, localise emergency areas and respond to the emergency; 3) to prepare the public for practical actions in the event of an emergency, foster the initiative of the public in the areas and strengthen the confidence in the activity of the civil protection and rescue system. Article
23. Tasks of the Civil Protection and Rescue System Taking into account the causes, character and hazard of an emergency, the civil protection and rescue system shall implement the following tasks: 1) warn residents of the imminent emergency, inform of its possible effects and measures to respond thereto; 2) undertake emergency prevention; 3) organise the supply of residents with individual protection kits and collective protection equipment; 4) carry out the reconnaissance and marking of the hazard area; 5) extinguish fires; 6) carry out rescue and other emergency operations; 7) maintain public order in the disaster area; 8) provide medical aid and carry out public health care in the event of an emergency; 9) evacuate the people and property from the territories at risk; 10) carry out sanitary treatment and other decontamination measures; 11) organise provision of the victims with temporary accommodation and supplies; 12) make arrangements for the burial of the dead; 13) organise the restoration of disrupted provision of essential municipal services; 14) provide assistance to preserve vital establishments; 15) stockpile vital supplies; 16) train chief officers, personnel, civil protection and rescue system forces and residents in actions in the event of an emergency; 17) investigate and analyse the causes of disasters. Article
24. Principles of Organisation and Functioning of the Civil Protection and Rescue System When implementing the goals and tasks set to them, the institutions of the civil protection and rescue system shall be guided by the following principles of organisation and functioning: 1) territoriality – civil protection shall be organised on the national scale according to the administrative division of the State and shall embrace all residents as well as foreign nationals located in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania; 2) differentiation – civil protection measures and preparedness for rescue operations shall be performed in individual administrative units taking into account the hazard and extent of an emergency anticipated in the territories of said units, also possible effect thereof on the national economy, residents, industrial and social activities; 3) universal obligatoriness – civil protection measures shall be obligatory to all state and municipal institutions, all economic entities, agencies and residents; 4) transparency – the activities of state and municipal institutions, economic entities and agencies in the sphere of civil protection shall be transparent to the public and the media; 5) state of constant readiness – the institutions and forces of the civil protection and rescue system must be in the state of constant readiness to act under the likely emergency conditions; 6) interoperability – the effectiveness of civil protection measures and actions under emergency conditions shall be ensured by co-ordinating the interoperability plans and management system of state and municipal institutions, economic entities, forces of the civil protection and rescue system, the Lithuanian Armed Forces, medical institutions and other services. Article
25. Legal Framework for the Civil Protection and Rescue System Institutions of the civil protection and rescue system shall be guided in their activities by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, laws and other legal acts enacted by the Seimas, decrees of the President of the Republic, resolutions of the Government, ordinances of the Prime Minister, orders of the Minister of the Interior and international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania. SECTION TWO DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMIC ENTITIES IN THE SPHERE OF CIVIL PROTECTION Article
26. Government Implementing the State policy in the sphere of civil protection, the Government shall: 1) draw up programmes for the development of the civil protection and rescue system and submit them to the Seimas for approval; 2) lay down the procedure for implementing the priority directions and programmes for the development of the civil protection and rescue system; 3) establish the emergency prevention procedure; 4) approve the levels of civil protection preparedness and emergency criteria; 5) approve national level plans of civil protection preparedness for an emergency, lists of establishments of national significance and potentially hazardous establishments and of basic public services provided to residents free of charge in the event of an emergency; 6) establish the procedure for using material resources in the event of an emergency; 7) establish the composition of the State reserve of civil protection technical means, food and clothing, the size of the reserve, the procedure for stockpiling, storage, renewal and delivery thereof to the site of use; 8) lay down the procedure for civil protection training; 9) fix budget appropriations for the maintenance and development of the civil protection and rescue system and submit them to the Seimas for approval; 10) notify the President of the Republic and the Seimas of emergencies and consequences and causes thereof and mediate in the declaration, when appropriate, of an emergency; 11) specify the procedure for applying to other states or international organisations for assistance. Article
27. Ministry of the Interior
28. The Ministry of the Interior shall implement, in conjunction with other institutions, the Government’s policy in the area of civil protection, co-ordinate the activities of institutions of the civil protection and rescue system in accomplishing the tasks assigned to their competence.
29. The Minister of the Interior shall: 1) establish the procedure for notifying the Fire and Rescue Department of emergencies; 2) approve the needs for shelters and other collective protection structures, the norms and procedure for provision of residents with individual means of protection; 3) approve the plans of the national level civil protection exercise; 4) approve the annual plan for the enrolment of students in the civil protection training centre; 5) submit to the Government drafts of laws on civil protection and other legal acts on related issues; 6) issue orders on civil protection matters, the implementation whereof shall be mandatory to civil protection and rescue system management institutions; 7) approve the annual plan of activities of the Fire and Rescue Department; 8) present to the Government generalised information on the state of the civil protection and rescue system. Article
30. Fire and Rescue Department
31. The Fire and Rescue Department shall be a constituent part of the civil protection and rescue system directing the activities of the civil protection and rescue system, organising the prevention of emergencies, co-ordinating the activities of state institutions and economic entities in the sphere of civil protection and planning the national preparedness for the implementation of civil protection tasks in the event of an emergency in time of peace and in wartime. The Fire and Rescue Department shall be established by the Government.
32. When implementing the tasks assigned to it, the Fire and Rescue Department shall: 1) warn and inform state institutions, economic entities and residents in the event of an emergency of a national-scale hazard presenting a threat to human life, health, property and the environment; 2) plan measures in order to ensure the transfer of state institutions, economic entities and residents from ordinary working (living) conditions to an emergency with the smallest possible losses, maintenance of order, preservation of human life, health and property and protection of the environment against the effects of the emergency as well as prepare and publish the methodical recommendations concerning civil protection; 3) plan measures in order to ensure the optimum use of resources of the State for the maintenance of the viability of the national economy, localisation of emergency areas and response to the emergency; 4) compile the register of establishments of national significance and hazardous establishments; 5) control the activities of the civil protection and rescue system; 6) organise the preparedness of state institutions and the community for practical actions in case of an emergency and establish working procedures for emergency management centres of various levels; 7) organise and direct the national level civil protection exercise; 8) co-ordinate the drawing up of plans of civil protection preparedness for an emergency in counties and municipalities; 9) agree county plans of civil protection preparedness for an emergency; 10) organise at the national level the localisation of large-scale emergencies, rescue of people and property, emergency response and carry out instructions of the commander of a civil protection operation as appointed by the Prime Minister; 11) in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government, mobilise the services subordinate to and equipment of other state institutions to assist civil protection and rescue services and co-ordinate actions thereof; 12) in response to an emergency, be in contact with emergency management centres of ministries, counties and municipalities. At the request of these centres, it shall mobilise the services subordinate to it and equipment to assist the centres and co-ordinate actions thereof; 13) plan the need for funds to ensure the functioning of the civil protection system, submit proposals to the Ministry of Finance regarding the allocation of these funds for the performance of the civil protection functions delegated by the State to municipalities; 14) determine the need for individual means of protection, shelters and other collective protection structures in territorial administrative units; 15) in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government, administer the State reserve of civil protection supplies; 16) carry out scheduled complex system warning checks of residents and control units; 17) within its competence, submit proposals regarding the drafting of new legal acts and amendment of the legislation in force required for the functioning of the civil protection system.
33. The fire prevention and rescue forces taking part in an emergency response operation shall be subordinate, irrespective of their institutional dependence, to the commander of a rescue operation as appointed by Director of the Fire and Rescue Department in accordance with the established procedure. Article
34. State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service
35. The State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service shall be a constituent part of the Civil Protection and Rescue System which shall be in the state of constant readiness, organise the extinguishment of fires, extinguish fires and carry out rescue operations as well as state fire prevention supervision.
36. The State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service, municipal fire prevention services, departmental fire prevention forces and voluntary firemen units taking part in an emergency response operation shall be subordinate, irrespective of their institutional dependence, to the commander of rescue operations as appointed, in accordance with the established procedure, by Director of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Department under the Ministry of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the “Fire Prevention and Rescue Department”). Article 11 shall be repealed on 1 January
37. Article
38. Ministries and Other State Institutions
39. The activities of ministries and other state institutions in the sphere of civil protection shall be directed by heads thereof or the persons authorised by them.
40. Ministries and other state institutions shall: 1) be responsible for the organisation of civil protection according to the type of activity and competence assigned to them; 2) approve the regulations of the emergency management centre of a ministry or other state institution, upon prior co-ordination thereof with the Fire and Rescue Department; 3) build departmental reserves of supplies and funds in order to increase the stability of functioning and security under emergency conditions of the enterprises assigned to their sphere of regulation; 4) organise training in civil protection of the chief officers and specialists; 5) project emergencies, plan and implement preventive measures; 6) draw up and approve plans of civil protection preparedness for an emergency; 7) co-ordinate, taking into account the character of tasks within their competence, the planning of civil protection measures of entities assigned to their sphere of regulation as well as the preparedness of the entities to work under emergency conditions; 8) furnish state institutions with information necessary for the implementation of civil protection tasks; 9) perform an annual analysis of the state of civil protection preparedness for an emergency and submit it to the Fire and Rescue Department. Article
41. County Governor
42. Civil protection of a county shall be directed by the county governor.
43. The county governor shall: 1) be responsible for civil protection preparedness in the county; 2) organise the drawing up of a plan of civil protection preparedness for an emergency in the county, agree it with the Fire and Rescue Department and approve it by an order, agree the plan of civil protection preparedness for an emergency in a municipality, warn state and municipal institutions, economic entities, agencies and residents of the imminent emergency, notify of its character and the likelihood of spread; 3) obtain from all municipalities of the county information necessary for the implementation of civil protection tasks; 4) in the event of a likely emergency, organise and implement in the territory of an administrative unit preventive measures of civil protection; 5) notify the Fire and Rescue Department of the disasters which occurred in the administrative unit; 6) make arrangements to respond to an emergency and organise supply of search and rescue operations; 7) provide aid to victims of a disaster; 8) control the preparedness of municipal institutions to avert the likely consequences of emergencies or to mitigate the effects thereof; 9) apply to the Government for aid in the event of an emergency when own forces and resources prove insufficient; 10) perform an annual analysis of the state of civil protection preparedness for an emergency and submit it to the Fire and Rescue Department. Article
44. Municipal Administrator
45. Civil protection shall be a function delegated by the State to a municipality, and discharge thereof shall be the responsibility of the municipal administrator.
46. The municipal administrator, in carrying out the civil protection functions delegated by the State to a municipality, shall: 1) be responsible for civil protection preparedness within the territory of the municipality; 2) project imminent emergencies within the territory of the municipality; 3) organise the drawing up of a plan of civil protection preparedness in the event of emergencies in the municipality and agreement thereof with the county governor and approve it; 4) warn state institutions, economic entities, agencies and residents of an imminent emergency, inform about its nature, the likelihood of spreading and the necessary actions required of the residents; 5) prescribe civil protection tasks and functions for structural territorial subdivisions of the municipal administration (wards) and approve plans of civil protection preparedness thereof for an emergency; 6) organise the formation and training of civil protection forces; 7) organise and implement preventive measures of civil protection, rescue and other emergency operations, respond to an emergency, evacuate residents and provide them with necessary accommodation and organise civil protection training of the residents; 8) collect information from all economic entities within the territory of the municipality necessary for carrying out the tasks of civil protection; 9) control the implementation of the civil protection tasks and compliance of the economic entities with the provisions of the Law on Civil Protection and other legal acts; 10) provide information to the county governor, the economic entities and residents within the territory of the municipality necessary for carrying out the tasks of civil protection; 11) stockpile, keep and renew the State reserve of civil protection supplies and make arrangements necessary for its distribution in the manner prescribed by the Law on State Reserve; 12) notify the county governor of emergencies which occurred within the territory of the municipality; 13) mobilise all civil protection forces within the territory of the municipality for emergency response and rescue operations; 14) organise the provision of aid to victims in the event of an emergency and/or disaster; 15) apply to the county governor for assistance in evacuation and rescue operations and in emergency response when own forces and resources prove insufficient; 16) issue orders and legal acts on civil protection within his own competence binding on all natural and legal persons within the territory of the municipality; 17) control the state of civil protection of the economic entities of the municipality and provide to them methodological assistance; 18) analyse the state of civil protection and submit an annual report thereon to the county governor in the manner prescribed by him; 19) provide annual information to the Fire and Rescue Department on the state and activities in the area of civil protection. Article
47. Head of an Economic Entity or an Institution The head of an economic entity or an institution shall: 1) be responsible for civil protection preparedness of the entity he is in charge of; 2) warn and inform the personnel of the imminent threat; 3) project emergencies and plan preventive measures; 4) draw up and approve plans of civil protection preparedness for an emergency; 5) provide the personnel with individual and collective means of protection; 6) in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government, stockpile material resources and technical means to increase the viability and safety of activities of the entity in the event of an imminent emergency; 7) seek to ensure provision of services in the event of an emergency according to the character of activities of the entity (institution); 8) organise, when appropriate, evacuation of the employees, first-response rescue operations and be in charge of them; 9) co-operate with state and municipal institutions on the drawing up of plans of civil protection preparedness thereof for an emergency and implementation of the tasks provided for therein. Article
48. Public Organisations Public organisations may be called to take part in organising state civil protection measures for disaster response and to provide aid to victims thereof in co-operation with municipal civil protection services. SECTION THREE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF RESIDENTS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA IN THE SPHERE OF CIVIL PROTECTION Article
49. Rights of Residents of the Republic of Lithuania in the Sphere of Civil Protection In the event of an emergency or threat thereof, residents of the Republic of Lithuania shall be entitled to life and health care, material and financial assistance and shall also have the right to be duly informed of the imminent threat. Article
50. Duties of Residents of the Republic of Lithuania in the Sphere of Civil Protection Residents of the Republic of Lithuania must: 1) comply with the requirements of laws and other legal acts governing civil protection; 2) be familiar with the warning signals of civil protection and know how to behave upon hearing them; 3) report to services of the civil protection and rescue system about an emergency or the imminent threat thereof; 4) carry out instructions of civil protection officers and take an active part in disaster response. SECTION FOUR COMMAND OF CIVIL PROTECTION AND RESCUE OPERATIONS Article
51. Command of Civil Protection
52. Command of civil protection shall be of three levels: national, county and municipal.
53. On the national level, the Government, the Government Emergency Commission, the Ministry of the Interior, the Fire and Rescue Department and the agencies subordinate thereto, ministries and other state institutions shall make strategic decisions on the implementation of civil protection measures.
54. On the county level, county governors, county civil protection departments and county emergency management centres shall organise preparedness for emergencies and assist, where necessary, in response thereto.
55. On the municipal level, municipal administrators, civil protection departments (divisions, services), civil protection personnel, municipal emergency management centres, fire prevention and other civil protection services, economic entities and agencies shall organise preparedness for emergencies and, where necessary, respond thereto. Article
56. Government Emergency Commission
57. The Government Emergency Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Emergency Commission”) shall be a standing Government commission which shall organise emergency prevention and management and direct emergency response actions where an emergency covers the territory of one or more counties or where the assistance of state institutions is necessary for mobilising without delay available forces and material resources of the Republic of Lithuania required to respond to the emergency. In the event of an emergency, decisions made by the Emergency Commission shall be binding on state and municipal institutions.
58. The composition and regulations of the Emergency Commission shall be approved by the Government. Article
59. Repealed on 1 January
60. Article
61. Other Civil Protection Management Institutions
62. Departmental emergency management centres shall be established at ministries and other state institutions.
63. Structural civil protection subdivisions of administrations of county governors and municipalities or individual civil servants shall organise the implementation of the tasks within the competence of the county and municipal civil protection and rescue system. The structure of the subdivisions and number of the personnel shall be specified on the basis of the recommendations of the Fire and Rescue Department taking into consideration the number of residents of a municipality, number of national significance, potentially hazardous, vital and hazardous establishments, amount of supplies of the State reserve of civil protection means and other criteria.
64. Emergency management centres shall be established at the office of a county governor and municipal administrator. The regulations, heads and structure of these centres shall be approved by their founders.
65. Permanent civil protection personnel shall be employed at all hazardous establishments. SECTION FIVE FORCES OF THE CIVIL PROTECTION AND RESCUE SYSTEM. COMMAND OF RESCUE OPERATIONS Article
66. Forces of the Civil Protection and Rescue System
67. Forces of the civil protection and rescue system shall be formed for carrying out rescue, search of people and other emergency operations.
68. Forces of the civil protection and rescue system, according to their purpose, shall be accordingly: 1) the Fire Prevention and Rescue Service forces; 2) general and special professional and voluntary units. Article
69. Fire Prevention and Rescue Service Forces and Their Purpose
70. Fire Prevention and Rescue Service forces shall comprise the Fire and Rescue Department and the agencies subordinate thereto, municipal fire prevention services, departmental fire prevention forces and voluntary firemen units.
71. The purpose of the agencies subordinate to the Fire and Rescue Department shall be to organise the extinguishment of fires, extinguish fires, carry out rescue operations as well as exercise state fire prevention supervision, respond to natural disasters, chemical and radiation incidents and provide first medical aid to the victims.
72. A municipal fire prevention service shall be a constituent part of the civil protection and rescue system in the state of constant readiness used for extinguishing fires, carrying out people and property rescue operations and financed from the municipal budget.
73. Departmental fire prevention forces shall be the subdivisions formed at individual establishments hazardous in respect of a fire, also at other enterprises, agencies and organisations for the extinguishment of fires and carrying out of first-response people and property rescue operations during fires.
74. A voluntary firemen unit shall be a public organisation whose purpose shall be the extinguishment of fires and rescue of people and property during fires. Article
75. General and Special Units and Their Purpose
76. General units shall be used for rescue and other emergency operations and for search of people. They shall be established by counties, municipalities and economic entities.
77. Special units shall be used for carrying out special tasks during rescue and other emergency operations to reinforce and ensure adequate logistical support for general units. Special units shall be established by ministries, other state institutions, municipalities, economic entities and agencies.
78. The composition and manner of formation and logistical support of general and special units shall be prescribed by the Government. Article
79. Repealed on 23 July
80. Article
81. Repealed on 21 February
82. Article
83. Civil Protection Services Civil protection services of ministries and other state institutions shall be formed to carry out civil protection measures and to provide support for the actions of the forces of the civil protection and rescue system carrying out rescue operations according to the sphere of activities, competence and functions assigned to a respective ministry or state institution. The functions of the above services shall be specified by the Government or an institution authorised by it. Article
84. Monitoring and Laboratory Control Network
85. Pollution of the environment with biological, chemical and radioactive substances shall be monitored by laboratories, research centres or other agencies performing laboratory research of biological, chemical and radioactive substances at the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Food and Veterinary Service and other state institutions. These agencies shall make up the national network of monitoring and laboratory control.
86. Heads of the agencies belonging to the network of monitoring and laboratory control shall be responsible for activities thereof.
87. In the event of disasters or imminent threat thereof, the activities of the network of monitoring and laboratory control shall be co-ordinated by the Fire and Rescue Department. It shall establish the procedure for submitting monitoring reports and findings of laboratory analysis to emergency management centres of state institutions and municipalities. Article
88. Command of Rescue and Other Emergency Operations
89. Extinguishment of fires, search for and rescue of people and their speedy evacuation from a disaster area shall be organised by the commander of rescue operations who shall also be in charge of the civil protection operation at an initial emergency stage.
90. In emergency cases, when responding to emergencies and taking into account causes thereof, officers of a fire prevention and rescue service and the police or health care specialists shall perform the functions of the commander of rescue operations without a special order.
91. All civil protection and rescue system forces, irrespective of their subordination, upon arrival to the disaster area shall become subordinate to the commander of rescue operations. No officer shall have the right to interfere in the activities of the commander of rescue operations or cancel his orders and instructions to the forces of the civil protection and rescue system.
92. The police shall co-ordinate its actions with the commander of rescue operations or an officer performing his functions. In carrying out his instructions, it shall protect the disaster area, control the ingress of the forces of the civil protection and rescue system and other services to the disaster area, maintain public order, process information about the victims, identify the dead and organise their removal from the site of the disaster.
93. The emergency medical aid service shall administer immediate medical aid on the site of the disaster, notify the nearest personal health care institutions of the victims and transport them.
94. Personal and public health care institutions must be prepared to organise their activities in the event of an emergency in accordance with a plan of civil protection preparedness of the agency for an emergency which has been drawn up in advance. The plan shall be drawn up according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health.
95. Upon starting to mobilise available material resources within the territory of a municipality or obtaining them from other municipalities, the command of a civil protection operation shall be taken over by the head of the municipal emergency management centre. He shall co-ordinate all assistance provided to the commander or commanders of rescue operations.
96. Where an emergency spreads over the territory of several municipalities and affects a large number of residents, the functions of the commander of a civil protection operation shall be carried out by head of the county emergency management centre in conjunction with heads of municipal emergency management centres.
97. Where an emergency spreads over the territory of one or more counties or where institutions of the civil protection and rescue system of the national level need to assist in emergency response, the functions of the commander of a civil protection operation shall be carried out by a member of the Government appointed by the Prime Minister or head of an institution responsible for the emergency management taking into account the character of the emergency and in accordance with the plans of civil protection preparedness for an emergency drawn up and co-ordinated in advance. The appointed commander of the civil protection operation shall be assisted by the Fire and Rescue Department.
98. In the event of an emergency, when the extent of the disaster is rapidly growing, at a written request of the head of the Government Emergency Commission or governor of a county the territory whereof is an emergency area or a relevant municipal administrator and in accordance with the procedure laid down by laws, units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces may be used for individual operations in the disaster area in accordance with the plans drawn up in advance on the interaction with commanders of the military units. Article 30