site.btaBulgarian Firefighters Return from Mission in Greece

The Bulgarian module of firefighters which left to help their Greek counterparts in tackling the large forest fires some ten days ago has returned. The module including five fire engines, two vans, an operational vehicle and 36 firefighters, was welcomed Monday by Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov, Director of the General Directorate Fire Safety and Civil Protection. Dzhartov thanked them for their good work and for returning safe and sound from the mission. This was the second assistance team sent under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and the first returned unharmed on 1 September.

"The challenge were the high temperatures in the first days, the drought that has taken over this part of Greece was felt everywhere. Literally a fire could change radically in a matter of seconds. While localised in one small part, it spread over a very large area in minutes," the head of the mission, Rosen Borisov, told journalists

because of the winds, which were quite strong at times, teams were constantly prepared for evacuation. Another challenge was the presence of aerial firefighting equipment, which the firefighters had to be careful to remain out of range. 

This is yet another mission that proves the professionalism of the Bulgarian firefighters, Dzhartov commented, recalling that the first international mission in which Bulgarian firefighters participated this year was the rescue mission in neighbouring Turkiye, after the earthquakes there