The lack of specialized firefighting equipment is a big problem. This was stated by the head of the "Forests" program at the environmental organization WWF Bulgaria, Neli Doncheva, on Nova TV.
Our three adapted military helicopters have lower capacity and efficiency compared to firefighting helicopters. The difference is up to 4-5 times - they pour about 2 tons of water against 10 tons. In addition, the reaction time in an intense peak forest fire is key. If measures are taken quickly, we have a better chance of dealing with the element. In the past, fires occurred mainly in the summer, but they now start in February, and there are also fires in late autumn, Doncheva pointed out.
According to disaster and accident expert Atanas Krastanov, not enough has been done to deal with the fires. "At the moment, 12 new aircraft have been purchased in Greece. In addition to the 90 that the country already owns. With a fire element whose front is tens of kilometers, there is no way for firefighters on the ground to cope, no matter how hard they try. If we had two aircraft with a load capacity of 7 to 10 tons of water, they would make extinguishing easier," Krastanov added.
According to him, the "Spartan" aircraft are not intended for firefighting, but containers with water can be adapted. "However, additional costs must be incurred", he added.
Ventsislav Stankov from the "Ogneborets" union pointed out that this year the fire season started a few days earlier.
"The number of fires is greater compared to 2024. Over 280,000 decares are the territories affected by the flames in Bulgaria. 447,000 were a year earlier, but the extent of the damage is quite large in terms of area. In 2024, financial resources were allocated for the purchase of aerial extinguishing equipment, but things are not happening so quickly - within 3 years we will have new machines. Local fires are being extinguished with water tankers, where there is a greater accumulation of peat. The main firefighting is with vehicles, manually on the ground and by air in case of peak burning," Stankov explained.
He pointed out that in 2010, hard work was done to provide aircraft, but nothing real was achieved, and the EU civil protection mechanism was relied on.