The government is taking measures to combat fires in connection with the upcoming summer season. They were presented at a briefing after today's meeting of the Council of Ministers, Nova TV reports.
“In the previous two years, there were many such cases, settlements were affected, significant areas of forests burned, and many people's properties were also affected. In this regard, on the explicit instructions of Prime Minister Rumen Radev, all responsible line ministries have joined their efforts to create an action plan”, said Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev.
He thanked the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Agriculture for the coordination created. "Together with them and with the General Directorate of Fire Safety and Population Protection, we identified these measures, created coordination so that we would be better prepared," Demerdzhiev said.
Demerdzhiev presented the measures concerning the Ministry of Internal Affairs. “What we will do this year is that if the index that poses a threat of fires increases, our vehicles and fire safety teams will be positioned as close as possible to these places so as not to waste time”, he pointed out.
The Minister of the Interior also announced that an organization has been created to use the available drones in the DG “Fire Safety and Population Protection”, in order to quickly identify and localize the exact locations where fires have occurred.
From his words it also became clear that the army is ready to cooperate with the available helicopters to extinguish fires. General Directorate “Border Police” also has such means, which will be used mainly for transporting forces, equipment and for monitoring the fires that have occurred.
The Bulgarian army is fully prepared to participate in extinguishing fires and to assist institutions in the event of disaster situations. This was stated by the Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov.
According to him, assisting the population in disasters and accidents is one of the main functions of the army and the armed forces are prepared to perform these tasks during the current summer season.
The minister pointed out that four “Cougar” helicopters, two Mi-17 helicopters and one “Spartan” aircraft, equipped with a new fire extinguishing system, have been provided for participation in firefighting operations. Stoyanov noted that the aircraft system has not yet been tested in real conditions, but expressed hope that it will show its effectiveness this year.
According to him, the aviation equipment is provided with the necessary crews and currently has sufficient resources to carry out the tasks set.
The Defense Minister also announced that the Bulgarian Army has 22 specialized formations for disaster and fire response. Seven of them are located in Northern Bulgaria, and 15 - in Southern Bulgaria. Their total composition is between 100 and 400 servicemen.
„We are fully prepared to provide assistance and work, as always, in excellent cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, so that we can together deal with the situations that have arisen“, said Dimitar Stoyanov.
Regarding the agriculture and forestry sector, the Minister of Agriculture Plamen Abrovski announced that work is being done in two directions. One of them concerns the protection of agricultural lands. In this regard, an order was issued today prohibiting mowing, announced Minister Abrovski. It will be limited only in the dark and early morning until 8 a.m. The order comes into force on July 10.
In addition, the Minister of Agriculture also stated that all foresters are on the ground and expressed hope that there will be much fewer fires than last year. Abrovski appealed to all citizens to be responsible, because in most cases, fires start from unintentional human activity.
The leadership of the General Directorate “Fire Safety and Population Protection“ warns of an increased risk of fires during the summer season due to high temperatures and abundant vegetation. This was stated by Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov.
According to him, fires in agricultural lands in most cases are not the result of deliberate burning of stubble, but are related to activities carried out during the agricultural campaign. It is precisely because of the high risk of incidents that the services carry out constant control during this period.
Dzhartov reported that 13 acts have been drawn up to establish administrative violations related to the fires of dry grass and plant waste.
He reported a worrying trend over the past two weeks, during which the number of fires in dry grass and natural areas has almost doubled. According to him, the main reason is the high temperatures and the prerequisites they create for the rapid spread of fire.
“This year we had heavy snowfalls and rainfall, which led to extremely lush vegetation. Any careless activity can cause a severe fire“, warned the director of the GDPBZN.
Chief Commissioner Dzhartov appealed to citizens to be especially careful when using open fire, both in populated areas and in nature. He reminded not to throw away unextinguished cigarette butts and not to carry out risky activities that could lead to fires.
According to him, the fire brigade teams are ready to respond, but forecasts indicate that the current fire season will be severe, regardless of the expected short-term cooling and precipitation in the coming days.