site.btaVarious Institutions Take Part in Joint Exercise on Responding to Wildfires near Kazanlak

Representatives of various institutions took part in a joint tactical and specialized exercise on responding to forest fires at the Tyulbeto training area near Kazanlak on Wednesday. Participating were the General Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection, the Land Forces, the Air Force, the Regional Forestry Directorate in Stara Zagora, state forestry enterprises, volunteer units, and other structures of the Unified Rescue System. 

Among those in attendance were the head of the General Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection, Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov, his deputy Lyubomir Barov, heads of units, the Deputy Commander of the 61st Stryamska Mechanized Brigade, Colonel Dimo Gyudzhenov, and Armed Forces representatives from across Bulgaria.

Talking to reporters, Chief Commissioner Dzhartov said that the serious wildfires in the last two years have made the coordination between many institutions necessary. In addition to firefighters, military personnel, forestry officials, volunteers, and local government representatives are involved in responding to such disasters. That is precisely why joint tactical and specialized exercises are of key importance, since each institution has its own operational structure, and in real-life situations, actions must be fully synchronized, he argued. According to him, the most important goal is to ensure the safety of both the professional teams and all other participants in the firefighting effort.

The Director of the Regional Fire Safety and Civil Protection Service, Senior Commissioner Stoyan Kolev, said that Wednesday's exercise aims to improve the coordination between the participating institutions. It was held thanks to preliminary planning and at the request of the Chief of Defence. He noted that all commanders of military units equipped with modules to support firefighting teams were on site and monitored the operations, so that wherever something similar occurs in the country, they can follow a protocol that guarantees success. He gave a positive assessment of the execution of the tasks. 

The exercise took place across three operational zones, in which the teams extinguished a grass fire in mountainous terrain, a fire in a pine forest, and a major fire that had escalated to the point where aerial support was required. Over 100 people from all institutions and more than 20 pieces of equipment were involved.