site.bta22 Military Units Formed to Fight Wildfires - Deputy Chief of Defence

A total of 22 units have been established to fight wildfires: fifteen in the southern part of the country, and seven in the north, said Deputy Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Krasimir Kanev Thursday at a press conference held at the Rakovski National Defence College. Diplomas will be awarded to graduating officers of the academy later in the day.

These 22 units include 440 active-duty service members and 93 pieces of equipment, with four helicopters also on operational standby. The response time of all modules has been shortened from two hours to one hour. “No unit has taken more than 45 minutes to deploy,” explained Lieutenant General Kanev.

As of Wednesday, ten requests have been received from regional governors for firefighting assistance. In response to these, 780 service members and 143 pieces of equipment have been involved, the Deputy Chief of Defence added.