site.btaFew Volunteers Respond to Call for Help with Ploski Fire, Says National Association Coordinator

Only a small number of volunteers responded to the call from the National Association of Volunteers in the Republic of Bulgaria to help contain the fire near the southwestern village of Ploski, Yavor Hadzhiev, the association’s regional coordinator, told BTA on Friday. Only three people showed up by the set deadline at the designated meeting point.

"We expected a much larger turnout. Due to the complexity of the fire, until today [Friday] we did not accept untrained volunteers. As of today, spontaneous volunteers can also join the firefighting efforts. They must wear clothing made of non-flammable materials and comfortable shoes," Hadzhiev said.

He explained that the main assistance in containing fires comes from activating municipal volunteer formations. Under the ordinance on volunteering, when a fire breaks out, the Mayor of the affected municipality—in this case, Emil Iliev of Strumyani—sends a written or verbal request to the mayors of neighboring municipalities to send their volunteer formations. This triggers a mechanism by which volunteers arrive on-site. For 22 days now, volunteer formations from Petrich, Sandanski, Strumyani, Blagoevgrad, and Sofia have been assisting with the fire in Pirin mountain. These have been the most active, though there have also been individual members from other formations, Hadzhiev said.

He noted that all 265 municipalities in Bulgaria are required to have volunteer formations, with their size determined by the local population. Recruitment involves a public call for candidates, submission and review of documents, interviews with approved candidates, listing them in the volunteer register, and training.

According to Hadzhiev, all municipalities should establish such formations and fill them to maximum capacity to ensure enough manpower on the ground when fires break out.