Croatian firefighters ready and equipped for wildfire season

Croatian Canadair CL-415 (Photo credit: Totya/GNU Free Documentation License)

ZAGREB, 17 June (Hina) – Representatives of the Croatian Firefighting Association (HVZ) informed President Zoran Milanović on Wednesday of the preparedness of the 2021 wildfire season with more than 1,000 professional firefighters deployed along the coast.

Fire Chief Slavko Tucaković and county commanders informed the president of the current state of the fire-fighting teams and of the state of equipment and level of preparedness for the wildfire season, the president’s office said in a press release.

Tucaković underscored that this year 94 new firefighting vehicles had been procured to upgrade the vehicle fleet and that accommodation and meals had been organised for firefighters that were regularly dislocated. Currently a procurement procedure is underway for protective equipment and approval has been issued for the additional employment of 1,176 seasonal firefighters.

(Photo: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić)

According to HVZ’s plan, 1,120 professional firefighters and 5,000 volunteers will fight fires along the coast this summer, together with up to 1,000 seasonal firefighters from coastal counties, the press release said.

Some one hundred firefighters from inland will be dislocated to the coast and about 200 soldiers will be on stand-by for emergency interventions. Six Canadair aircraft are on stand-by too.

(Photo: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić)

HVZ recalled that firefighters are continually engaged in interventions and removing the consequences of last year’s earthquakes in Sisak-Moslavina County and actively participate in the activities of the national civil protection authority.

President Milanović commended the firefighters, underscoring that they are doing an important job for Croatia.