SERBIAN FIREFIGHTERS RETURN FROM FIGHTING FIRES IN FRANCE

BELGRADE, AUGUST 10 /SRNA/ - Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić welcomed members of the Emergency Situations Sector today at the Makiš Training Center following their return from France, where they had been deployed to fight major wildfires.

Dačić stressed that Serbia now has a system capable of responding to major challenges while also helping others.

The Serbian team deployed to fight wildfires in France consisted of 34 firefighter-rescuers and three medical team members, with a total of 15 official vehicles and two trailers.

Dačić stressed that they worked in difficult and demanding terrain, fighting and containing fires, creating firebreaks, monitoring the fire sites and preventing the flames from reigniting, the Serbian Ministry of the Interior /MoI/ said.

“You created around three kilometres of firebreaks and, together with your French and Romanian colleagues, did what you went there to do - you helped protect people and property,” Dačić stressed.

He noted that while they were fighting fires in France, their colleagues in Serbia were putting out fires from Deliblato Sands to other areas at risk.

He specified that last year the Emergency Situations Sector carried out around 39,000 interventions and saved more than 1,400 lives, while since the beginning of this year it has carried out 22,442 interventions and saved 704 lives.

Dačić stressed that Serbia now has eight modern helicopters at its disposal, including H-145 and H-215 Super Puma helicopters, as well as Russian Kamov helicopters, adding that Serbia is continuing to procure H-125 helicopters.

He said that over the past five years, since 2021, a total of 142 new vehicles have been procured from national and international sources for the needs of firefighting and rescue units, with the procurement of another 40 vehicles for fighting wildfires and other interventions also announced.

Natacha Ephimoff, Chargé d’Affaires at the French Embassy, thanked the Serbian firefighters and stressed that the experience, professionalism and technical skills of the members of the Serbian delegation had been noticed.