Residents and property owners in the burned-out Opitsvet, Ponor, Bezden, Bogyovtsi and the Beledie Khan neighborhood sent an open letter to state institutions and local authorities, in which they demand to receive answers regarding the occurrence and spread of the large fire that broke out a few days ago. Here is what they write:
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA TO
MR. MANOL GENOV
MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATERS TO
MR. DANIEL MITOV
MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR
TO
THE PEOPLE'S REPRESENTATIVES
TO THE 51ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA COPY TO:
MR. TRAIKO MLADENOV
MAYOR OF KOSTANBROD MUNICIPALITY
COPY TO:
BULGARIAN MEDIA
OPEN LETTER - REQUEST
From residents, owners of land properties in the villages of Opitsvet, Ponor, and Bezden, village
Bogyovtsi and Beledie Khan neighborhood and interested parties
Regarding the fire that occurred on 21.07.2025 in the above-mentioned villages and their
Lands
DEAR MR. PRESIDENT,
DEAR MR. MINISTERS AND PEOPLE'S REPRESENTATIVES,
DEAR MR. MAYOR,
DEAR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
In connection with the fire that occurred in the area of the town. Kostinbrod - in the lands of the villages of Opitsvet, Ponor, Bezden, Bogyovtsi and the Beledie Khan neighborhood, we insist first of all on receiving answers to the following questions:
1. What is the cause of the fire? At what time and where did it occur?
2. At what time were signals submitted by the population to tel. 112?
3. At what time did the first fire department arrive, where was it positioned and what was its capacity? At what time were additional fire departments sent?
4. Was the water shut off during the day, in which settlements and for what reason?
5. What is the condition of the water supply network in the area; what is its maintenance and is there water use for domestic needs by industrial enterprises?
6. Which water sources supply the settlements in the area and is the flow rate sufficient to meet the domestic needs of the residents of the settlements?
7. Has a standard plan or protocol been prepared and approved for action in such disaster situations with specific instructions for action, both by the institutions and by the population?
8. Why were people not warned about the fire and the immediate danger to their lives and health through the VS-Alert system?
We ask these questions because for years we have suffered as a result of negligent management and negligence on the part of the local authorities regarding water supply. We emphasize that it is not normal for settlements located only 20-30 km from the capital to have interrupted water supply or water regime for days on end, while at the same time we are witnessing a waste of water resources, delayed for days or no reaction at all when reporting leaks in the water supply network, and last but not least - practically zero investments to improve the condition of the water supply in the small settlements of the municipality. People are forced to deal with the problems themselves - for example, residents and owners of land in the Belediye Khan neighborhood were forced to use their own strength and resources for more than 10 years to build a private water supply in the neighborhood, and after its launch in April of this year, the neighborhood is currently in a continuous water regime.
A specific reason to turn to you and seek an answer to the questions raised above is the fire of July 21, 2025, which in just a few hours covered huge areas of agricultural land, forests and plantations, burned down more than ten houses and it does not matter whether they were permanently inhabited or not - how can you inhabit your property in the absence of basic infrastructure and when you have no water at 40-degree temperatures? During the fire, we witnessed crazy situations - people had to put out the fire themselves with improvised means, because even during the disaster, the water supply was stopped in many places, and the reaction of the responsible institutions was late or did not exist at all.
Against the backdrop of the natural disaster that befell us and its catastrophic consequences for the nature and population in the region, despite the practically constant water shortage in the settlements, the Municipality of Kostinbrod gives the green light to a scandalous project to build a photovoltaic park and a plant for the production of green hydrogen in the land of the village of Bogyovtsi, for the functioning of which industrial quantities of water are required and which, if built, will not only take up the latter
a drop of water for the residents of the area, but in itself it represents a dangerous and high-risk facility, threatening nature, life and health of the local population. If this project of “SOFIA HYDROGEN“ EAD is implemented - with the installation of hundreds of photovoltaic panels and a plant with extremely explosive production, does anyone even think about what would happen to nature and people in the area in the event of such a natural disaster? Because fires around these villages are practically an annual phenomenon. What's more - directly above the Belediye Khan neighborhood is a military missile defense unit located, which should protect the capital in case of missile attacks. If a future fire reaches it - who and how will extinguish it? And last but not least - just a few kilometers from the front of the
the current fire is located Substation "Sofia-West" 400/110 M of the Electric Power System Operator EAD - a site of strategic and national importance for the power supply and transmission of electricity in the country and on the Balkan Peninsula. What would have happened if the wind had directed the fire in this direction? Who and how would have extinguished the fire in this site in the absence of water, equipment and fire brigades?
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, with this letter - signature we ask urgent and long-standing questions, because if the above-mentioned problems with the water supply in the area are not urgently resolved by the competent institutions and local authorities, another fire may not pass without even more serious, and even fatal, catastrophic consequences.
We, the residents and owners of the land properties in the area, insist on receiving specific answers to the questions posed. We demand that the state and local authorities treat our problems competently and responsibly, because we are all taxpayers and the institutions have obligations to us. We are grateful to the ordinary firefighters, police officers, military personnel and volunteers for the assistance provided. But we insist that in connection with the fire that occurred, responsibility be sought from specific officials who, not only in this case, but also in general, neglect our daily problems.
In conclusion, we would like to give a constructive and feasible proposal that would help for a quick and adequate response to future fires - in every populated area, a reservoir with the necessary amount of inviolable water supply should be built and maintained - this is how it is done in normal European countries.
And finally, let us ask our last question:
9. MR. PRESIDENT, MR. DEPUTY, MR. MINISTERS,
MR. MAYOR, DON'T FORGET THAT WE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ELECTED YOU AND IT IS THANKS TO US THAT YOU HOLD YOUR CURRENT POSITIONS. WHY, AS OUR ELECTED PEOPLE, DO YOU ALLOW ALL OF THIS TO HAPPEN?
Sincerely,
Residents, owners of land properties in the villages of Opitsvet, Ponor, Bezden, Bogyovtsi and the Beledie Khan neighborhood and interested parties