Volunteers from all over the country are facing an administrative and financial absurdity. In order to reach remote areas and participate in extinguishing fires, they have to pay tolls for the fire trucks they use. The volunteer groups themselves reported the problem, Nova TV reports.
We are talking about people who, in the event of large fires, are often among the first to join the fight against the fire, alongside professional firefighters. However, it turns out that vehicles purchased with donations and used for rescue operations are charged by the toll system on a par with heavy-duty trucks engaged in commercial activities.
„It turned out that the fees we pay for the fire truck to drive on the republican road network have been increased since July 1. The amounts are drastically higher compared to last year“. This was stated in “Hello, Bulgaria” by the head of the Volunteer Formation - Hisarya Vladimir Topalov.
According to him, the trip of the fire truck to Pazardzhik alone, where the volunteers had put out a fire a few days ago, and back, cost 24 euros. For Parvomay, the round trip cost was 22 euros. Even more drastic - from 60-70 euro cents to 3 euros, is the increase in trips to Plovdiv, where the distance is only 13 kilometers.
The expenses are not paid personally by the volunteers, but are at the expense of the municipality, which, according to them, practically means taxpayers' money. "We have to pay to go and put out fires," says Topalov.
He believes that the problem can be solved through legislative change. Fire trucks of volunteer formations, which are registered as specialized vehicles, should be exempted from tolls when used to participate in rescue and firefighting activities.
The "Road Infrastructure" Agency announced in a statement to Nova TV that the current legislation does not provide for exemption from tolls for vehicles used by volunteer formations. Therefore, all vehicles with a mass of over 3.5 tons must pay a toll according to the current tariff. The amount of the toll due is determined by the tariff for the republican road network, the RIA statement states.
However, the problem is not limited to tolls. The volunteer groups rely on municipalities and donors for fuel, spare parts and vehicle maintenance. With limited municipal budgets, the costs are becoming increasingly difficult to cover.