‘There are no trainings or precautions against fires, nor is there a fire brigade in Turkey’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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Two recent forest fires in Gelibolu, Çanakkale and Heybeliada, İstanbul have raised question marks in people's minds on whether adequate measures have been taken against wildfires in Turkey.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announced that fires were taken under control thanks to the extinguishing efforts of relevant teams; but, it is still open to debate whether it is only about putting out a fire.

Foundation of Fire Protection and Training of Turkey (TÜYAK) Founder and Honorary Chair Prof. Abdurrahman Kılıç says, "All fires go out, there is no fire that does not go out anyway. When the flammable materials are exhausted, the fire comes to an end as well."

'It depends on a bit of luck'

Underlining that the "early extinguishment of a fire in Turkey depends on a bit of luck," Kılıç says, "Fires break out, some of them are put out before they spread more, some of them cause more damage. But this issue of early extinguishment depends on a bit of luck."

Referring to the fire yesterday, Kılıç adds, "For instance, in Heybeliada fire yesterday, if there had been no wind and if it had not been close to the sea, it could not have been taken under control that easily. Because it would have spread very quickly. Especially until planes reached the island, the fire would have spread more and more due to the wind.

"Such statements of success in putting out a fire are not right. If a forestland of over 400 hectares was razed in Gelibolu, then, it is not right to call it a success. Let me first tell you this: If precautions are adequate and if weather conditions are favorable too, then a fire can be extinguished quickly. If the wind had been a bit stronger yesterday, neither planes nor helicopters would have worked, as in the case of several other previous fires in İstanbul."

'There is no adequate training'

Underlining that not enough precautions are taken against fires in Turkey, Kılıç emphasizes the following three important points:

"What is important here is, first of all, to train people. There is no adequate training. Secondly, there needs to be precautions to take in forest areas, such as firebreaks, water storage, positioning of planes at certain spots and placing infrared cameras in forests. Thirdly, there is a need for a fire extinguishing infrastructure, especially chief fire officers or professional fire fighters to immediately go to the scene of incident.

'There is no fire brigade in Turkey'

Kılıç also says that "there is no fire brigade in Turkey," underlining that only temporary workers are employed for the job:

"If the fire is taken under control, some part of it is haphazardly extinguished in the beginning. The success in putting out a fire depends on meteorological conditions and structure of the land. These three elements depend on each other in determining the success of putting out a fire."

'You cannot find statistical data'

Kılıç also notes that there are no statistical data on fires in Turkey:

"The most important issue now is the lack of organization and coordination. We are talking about a structure that does not even have an directorate across Turkey. There is no unity. There used to be civil defense. The data used to be sent there. As there is no such an institution anymore, there needs to be an examination one by one.

"It is not also right to trust the statistics in Turkey. For instance, if a person jumps in the fire and dies, they do not count it as a casualty of the fire. The issue of fire is managed with a medieval system. It is difficult to find statistics. You can find any city in the world, but not one in Turkey because there is no fire brigade in Turkey." (AÖ/SD)