President Ersin Tatar evaluates the fire in Ağırdağ-Boğaz region last night
“A great disaster has been prevented”
Photos
President Ersin Tatar has paid tribute to the emergency services and members of the public in their response to a fire in the Ağırdağ-Boğaz region last night which he said has “prevented a great disaster”.
The President, who spoke to the TAK News Agency, said that the Turkish Security Forces were able to take photographs using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that helped determine heat levels and the magnitude of the fire and assisting emergency services in terms of planning and executing the response to extinguishing the fire in the mountainous region.
Stating that it is in the best interests for everybody to “take all necessary measures to prevent such fires from occurring,” the President extended his best wishes to all the residents in the region. He said the fire had started after midnight, adding that he was on the scene supervising fire-fighting efforts, which included a reconnaissance flight in the region with a helicopter.President Tatar added that although the fire had not raged out of control, smaller fires had penetrated into some houses and buildings in the Ağırdağ region that caused damage.
“The findings of the investigation and extent of the damage has been shared with the Fire Brigade, Forestry Department, Civil Defence Organisation and the police,” the President said. He said that an Emergency Response Centre had been quickly set-up by the Civil Defence Organisation which assisted in coordination and information sharing between the different units that assisted in putting out the fire. The President also thanked the security forces and some contractors and members of the public for providing water tankers and other equipment.
“Grass surrounding transformers should be cleared”
President Tatar drew attention to the dangers with regards to the existence of dry grass located at the base of electrical transformers. He said dry grass is susceptible to catching fire from electrical sparks ejected from the close proximity transformer.
The President added that he had also visited the Kalkanlı and Mersinlik regions – where two separate catastrophic wildfires had gutted the forests. He said air power can only be used during the daytime and not at night. He said the night-time fire of Ağırdağ prevented the use of air support, which made it harder for the units to put out the fire. However, the President said that the speedy response, coordination and intense efforts during the night that lasted until the early hours of the morning enabled the units to successfully extinguish the fire in the Ağırdağ region.
President Tatar stated that the fire had started due to the surge caused by the contact of power lines and the strong winds and added that there is a need to determine the cause of why the fire had spread so quickly.
The President, who spoke to the TAK News Agency, said that the Turkish Security Forces were able to take photographs using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that helped determine heat levels and the magnitude of the fire and assisting emergency services in terms of planning and executing the response to extinguishing the fire in the mountainous region.
Stating that it is in the best interests for everybody to “take all necessary measures to prevent such fires from occurring,” the President extended his best wishes to all the residents in the region. He said the fire had started after midnight, adding that he was on the scene supervising fire-fighting efforts, which included a reconnaissance flight in the region with a helicopter.President Tatar added that although the fire had not raged out of control, smaller fires had penetrated into some houses and buildings in the Ağırdağ region that caused damage.
“The findings of the investigation and extent of the damage has been shared with the Fire Brigade, Forestry Department, Civil Defence Organisation and the police,” the President said. He said that an Emergency Response Centre had been quickly set-up by the Civil Defence Organisation which assisted in coordination and information sharing between the different units that assisted in putting out the fire. The President also thanked the security forces and some contractors and members of the public for providing water tankers and other equipment.
“Grass surrounding transformers should be cleared”
President Tatar drew attention to the dangers with regards to the existence of dry grass located at the base of electrical transformers. He said dry grass is susceptible to catching fire from electrical sparks ejected from the close proximity transformer.
The President added that he had also visited the Kalkanlı and Mersinlik regions – where two separate catastrophic wildfires had gutted the forests. He said air power can only be used during the daytime and not at night. He said the night-time fire of Ağırdağ prevented the use of air support, which made it harder for the units to put out the fire. However, the President said that the speedy response, coordination and intense efforts during the night that lasted until the early hours of the morning enabled the units to successfully extinguish the fire in the Ağırdağ region.
President Tatar stated that the fire had started due to the surge caused by the contact of power lines and the strong winds and added that there is a need to determine the cause of why the fire had spread so quickly.