Lifeguards ready for the holiday season | Województwo Kujawsko-Pomorskie

Vice-Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski and rescuers from the Volunteer Water Rescue Service met today (30 June) at the Wdecki WOPR station in Tleń to inaugurate the holiday season at Kujawsko-Pomorskie bathing areas. This year, the regional government is financing summer duty and patrols by the WOPR with PLN 130,000.

“For many seasons, we have been supporting the work of the Volunteer Water Rescue Service and, thus, the safety of those holidaying by the water. WOPR branches have been equipped with excellent equipment, and nearly a thousand people have been trained in water rescue and qualified first aid. Today’s ceremony is another part of our activities,” emphasised Vice-Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski.

Rescue teams affiliated with WOPR, equipped with motorboats, will ensure safety on:

Włocławek Reservoir
Żur Reservoir (Świecie County)
Lake Gopło (Inowrocław County)
Lake Żnińskie Małe and Duże
Lakes of the Brodnica Lake District
Vistula River
Brda River
and Wda River.

Rescue services will also be on duty at WOPR stations and bathing areas in Bydgoszcz, Tleń (Świecie County), Borówno (Bydgoszcz County), Toruń, Koronowski Lagoon, Włocławski Lagoon, Lake Gopło, Żnin, Brodnica, Tuchola, Solec Kujawski (Bydgoszcz County) and Ciechocinek (Aleksandrów County).

This season, over 1,300 water rescuers remain on standby.

As part of the European Funds for Kujawy and Pomerania 2021-2027, we are allocating PLN 7 million for the purchase of equipment for WOPR, including cars, quads, kayaks and defibrillators. ‘This is the largest project in Poland supporting volunteer water rescue units,’ emphasised Maciej Banachowski, president of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie WOPR. Details on the Kujawsko-Pomorskie WOPR website

RPO 2014-2020 funds enabled the purchase of training tools and equipment to improve search and rescue operations.

Thanks to the implementation of the EU training project, nearly a thousand residents of our region have obtained the necessary qualifications to work in water rescue and first aid.

With the safety of holidaymakers by the water (and in the mountains) in mind, a free app called ‘Ratunek’ (Rescue) has been created, enabling the location of an injured person and quick assistance from the emergency services. We encourage you to download it to your mobile phones so that you can quickly contact WOPR in a life-threatening or health-threatening situation. The system automatically connects to the appropriate emergency number integrated with the app, and rescuers receive information about the caller’s location with an accuracy of up to 3 metres. Emergency number by the water: 601 100 100. Reports from the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship are accepted by the Provincial Water Rescue Coordination Centre in Kruszwica (Inowrocław County). Calls are answered 24 hours a day, all year round. See Stay safe by the water with the ‘Ratunek’ app

Beata Krzemińska

spokesperson for the Marshal’s Office

30 June 2025