RDG Pazardzhik Preemptively Armed with Drone and New Cars to Fight Forest Fires

The Regional Directorate of Forests in Pazardzhik already has a drone, which will be used proactively to monitor forested areas in the region. In the staff’s arsenal are six new high-miperformance Dacia Duster vehicles, enabling firefighters to reach hard-to-access and rugged terrains where fires arise. This was announced at a briefing by the temporary director of RDG Pazardzhik, Marin Zlatarov.

He added that since the beginning of the year only two fires have been registered in the forests, whereas for the same period last year they numbered twenty-six. One fire affected an area of fifty decares in DGS – Pazardzhik, and the other – one decare in the area of DGS “Selishte.” The briefing focused on the increased risk of fire ignition and spread, prevention, risk assessment, and measures taken during the active summer season and was organized by the Regional Directorate of Forestry – Pazardzhik.

Participants included the regional governor Borislav Bogoslovov, the director of RDG – Pazardzhik Marin Zlatarov, the director of the Regional Directorate “Fire Safety and Population Protection” Commissioner Angel Angelov, the director of the Regional Directorate “Agriculture” Milena Vlachinova, a representative of YCDB, as well as the directors of state forest and hunting estates in the region, and chairs of hunting-fishing associations. Since the beginning of July, RDG and RD-PBZН have been conducting joint checks to ensure compliance with fire prevention measures in forest territories. According to Commissioner Angel Angelov, prevention and good coordination between forestry estates, fire services, and volunteer formations yield results in the fight against forest fires.

According to him, over 70 percent of forest fires originate outside forest territories due to human neglect and then spread. He noted the activity of municipalities and volunteer formations, whose trained teams provide valuable support to firefighters in critical situations. “Against the backdrop of what is happening in Spain, France, and Italy, in Bulgaria and in our region the measures taken are yielding results,” stated regional governor Bogoslovov. He stressed that the hottest period of the year is ahead and full mobilization of all responsible institutions and society is needed. “Prevention is the most effective measure,” Bogoslovov added, calling on residents and guests of the region to be careful in forest areas and near them, not to light open fires, and not to throw out unextinguished cigarettes.

Every signal to phone number 112 can prevent a serious disaster. The regional governor issued a special appeal to agricultural producers and landowners to comply with fire safety requirements during harvest. “Responsible conduct and strict adherence to the rules are in the interest of everyone,” he concluded, expressing gratitude to the fire and forest service staff, volunteers, and all who work to protect the forests and ensure people’s safety.

Source: 24chasa.bg