site.btaSofia Launches Mapping of Emergency Water Sources for Fire Response

Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev has tasked the Emergency Assistance and Prevention Directorate with creating a comprehensive map of all available water sources—hydrants, taps, and reservoirs—that can be used in the event of a fire, along with a clearly defined operating protocol.

"We're starting in the Novi Iskar district, in cooperation with Sofiyska Voda," the mayor announced on Facebook Thursday, referring to the water utility company in the capital.

Terziev visited the directorate’s new logistics and training facility in the village of Mramor, which will house all emergency equipment in one place to allow for quicker response during disasters and crises.

Although the buildings on-site haven’t been in use for years, they will soon be transformed into a renovated facility, featuring a sandbag-filling zone for flood response, a training centre, and equipment for rapid intervention, the mayor said. He added that by the end of the year, the teams will receive two new emergency rescue vehicles, mobile water tanks, and backpack fire extinguishers.

Wildfires have not spared the Sofia area this summer. Just a few days ago, a fire broke out close to the town of Bankya and the St Petka Monastery. Four teams from the fire brigade and the municipality’s emergency directorate responded, along with volunteers from Sofia Municipality’s disaster response unit. On the mayor’s orders, four water tankers were dispatched to the scene, and a firefighting drone was launched by the Emergency Assistance and Prevention teams.