The Polish public alarm strategy does not work effectively, assessed the superbrigadier Jarosław Tomczyk in an interview with the WP published on 19 September 2026. On that day, residents of Lublin and Podkarpackie voivodships are practicing their reaction to the threat from the air. For Poles, the problem is basic: the mermaid without a clear message and the available shelter does not supply security.
The alarm must lead to a circumstantial action
Increasingly frequent sirens and alerts of the Government safety Center remind that the war outside the Polish border can straight affect the regular life of residents of east provinces. Nadbrigadier Jarosław Tomczyk, a civilian protection expert, estimated in a conversation with Virtual Poland that the alarm strategy was not working. Even worse, he described the condition of the shelters. This is simply a strict assessment, but it concerns the primary work of the state: a citizen after proceeding a siren must know what is going on and where to go.
On Saturday, September 19th, the Ministry of Defence, the State Fire and Volunteer Fire Department, conduct peculiar trainings in Lublin and Podkarpackie provinces. According to Communication from the Ministry of the Interior the guards and firehouses receive residents from 11.00 to 14.00. Participants are to know the importance of RCB alerts, the rules for choosing a safe area and how to usage the “Where to Hide” application.
Such training is needed. However, it cannot replace an efficient system. Recent sirens in the Lublin region and picking up fighters showed that residents request rapid, unambiguous and coherent messages. Sound without information can origin chaos or, after a series of rehearsals and solemn launches, be ignored. Both scenarios are dangerous.
New alerts and technology on phones
The Ministry of abroad Affairs informs that the RCB alert strategy has been expanded about communications concerning Russian attacks on the western part of Ukraine, massive blows and direct threat of air strikes in Poland. The contents of the following messages are intended to indicate whether the situation should be followed, or whether to find a safe place immediately. The hotel besides announces the implementation of Cell Broadcast technology and an application sending alert notifications by the end of 2026.
This is simply a step in the right direction, but technology does not relieve the administration of work for the simplicity of procedures. The state must talk with 1 voice. Government, fire department, police, military and RCB cannot give conflicting instructions to residents. The strategy should be regularly trained in conditions as close as possible to the real threat and its errors should be revealed and corrected. Without powdering the statistics.
A refuge is not always a shelter
The biggest hazard lies in naming. By MSWIA data of May 2026. The “Where to Hide” application covered nearly 84 000 shelter points for almost 24 million people. However, authoritative explanations reserve that the base primarily contains ad hoc shelters specified as underground garages, tunnels, passages and duly selected parts of the buildings. They are not the same as full-value shelters of the highest category of protection.
A citizen has the right to know the actual standard of the place indicated in the application. He needs information on the threat to which the facility protects, how many people it houses, whether it has been checked and who is liable for providing it. The pin itself on the map won't halt the shrapnel or the shock wave. Assessment of passages and shelters in Podkarpacie should be part of a permanent audit, not a one-time consequence to the alarm.
Security of Poles requires a state prepared
After years of neglect, civilian protection regulations were passed and funds were allocated to rebuild the system. Now it's about execution. Each municipality should know the degree of the sirens, have alternate notification channels and the current list of protective facilities. Residents must first know where to look for shelter alternatively of improvising upon the arrival of the alert.
Life and wellness of Poles are at stake. civilian defence cannot be mainly in laws, presentations and applications. The siren is to warn, the message is to lead, and the protective object is indeed to protect. It's the chain that keeps you safe.
Source: Virtual Poland, Ministry of Interior and Administration
Source: WP News
