This year, millennial flooding had thoroughly tested the preparedness of firefighters and the functionality of the civil emergency preparedness system not only in Prague, but all over the Czech Republic. What we knew only from history or narrative, we experienced first-hand.

Firefighters began to prepare for the arrival of the big flood already July 12th, when the floods began to build up in Prague. Flood barriers were being built all over Prague and thousands of sandbags were being filled at the Holešovice station. Additional experience firefighters gained in previous assistance to colleagues in South Bohemia. Yet the flood that hit Prague between 12th and 22nd August, when the daily average of interventions was 13 times higher than normal, probably none of us could imagine. Protection of bridge pilars techniques developed during floods using excavators, cranes and fire platforms in cooperation with patrols who reported on approaching dangerous objects floating in the river. Firefighters had a lot of work even after the big flood subsided not only with pumping water from lagoons and draining water from the premises, where the also had help from colleagues from other countries, but even such things as clearing out catering businesses and shops where meat and other food was spoiled during the flooding of Karlín.

Subsequent analysis of the course of the floods confirmed that the system, which was created after the floods in 1997, was set up correctly and functionally. Including modifications in the legislation that gave birth to the newly formed Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic from 1st January 2001.

The unified system of management of rescue and disposal operations was later adopted by many countries as a model for their own models of safety systems.