The fires are 90 percent human-caused...

While measures have been increased to prevent forest fires with the increase in temperatures, experts say that there are unconsciousness, carelessness, neglect, sabotage, unplanned urbanization and natural phenomena among the causes of fires. While it is pointed out that forest fires are seen more frequently in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara regions, it is emphasized that the cause of 90% of forest fires is human-caused. Dr. Rüştü Uçan states that the most important step is to raise public awareness and take all precautions before the fire. Specialist Abdurrahman İnce, who gives the Investigation of the Fire Outbreak Cause Investigation courses, lists the steps to be followed in the fire extinguishing works and underlines that the forestation works of the burned areas should be started quickly and the inspections of these areas should be more often.

Caution should be exercised at all times, not only during the fire period

Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences (HSF) Head of Occupational Health and Safety Department Assist. Prof. Rüştü Uçan gave important information about the causes of forest fires that we frequently encounter and how they can be prevented. Institute of Health Sciences Occupational Health and Safety Specialist, Fire Outbreak Cause Investigation Instructor Lecturer. Asst. Prof. Abdurrahman İnce made evaluations about the path followed in the fire extinguishing works and what will be done afterwards.

The fires are 90 percent human-caused...

Stating that conditions such as unawareness, carelessness, negligence, sabotage, terrorism, unplanned urbanization, natural phenomena, accidents, power transmission lines, cleaning fires and population mobility cause forest fires, HSF Occupational Health and Safety Department Head Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan said that "In the Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara regions, where the population increase is intense and the forest presence is high, forest fires are seen intensively as a result of the increase in temperatures, winds, decrease in humidity and increase in agriculture and tourism mobility, especially in the summer months. The fact that 90 percent of forest fires are caused by human and 10 percent are of natural origin shows that the human factor is very important.".

It is possible to stop climate change

Drawing attention to the issue of climate change which triggers the natural causes of forest fires, Dr. Uçan stated that "There is a way to stop climate change. By giving up some habits in our everyday lives, we can make a positive contribution to preventing climate change. We need to reduce the carbon footprint to a minimum. We should work on raising awareness and educating the public. It is also necessary to encourage renewable energy sources and limit the use of energy from fossil sources. We can carry out afforestation and greening works as much as possible. Climate change also appears to cause fires as it causes imbalances in average temperatures, reduced rainfall and other weather events.".

Dr. Uçan: "The most important step is to raise public awareness"

Emphasizing the importance of raising public awareness to prevent forest fires, Asst. Prof. Rüştü Uçan said that "Experts in the field should give trainings through mass media or face-to-face. Volunteer firefighting should be expanded and educational and stimulating information should be provided to the people living in settlements, especially in sensitive areas. Inspections of forest areas should be intensified during the summer period. Entrances and exits to forest areas should be closed. There should be no easily flammable materials in the parts of the areas that are in human use such as houses, gardens and businesses that are on the border of the forest in the summer periods.".

"A buffer zone should be established between the forest and other areas"

Referring to the need to keep extinguishing materials against the possibility of fire in rural areas, Uçan continued his remarks as follows: "Before the summer period, which is the forest fire season, the cleaning of flammable materials such as grass and shrubs on both sides of the roads on the highway and forest border should be done. Materials such as grass, trees and shrubs near the power lines passing through the forest areas should be cleaned. Temperature warnings from meteorology should be announced to the public and all relevant institutions and organizations through all communication channels. A buffer zone should be created between the forest and agricultural lands and the zoned areas and forest areas. Structures and facilities without zoning in the forest should not be allowed. Members of professions such as shepherding, beekeeping and hunting operating in the forest area should be trained on general forestry and fires. Forest conservation officers, forest guards and law enforcement officers should be increased within and on the border of forest areas, especially during the fire season.".

Step by step 'How to extinguish a fire?'

Üsküdar University Institute of Health Sciences, Occupational Health and Safety Specialist Instructor Asst. Prof. Abdurrahman İnce provided training to firefighter candidates in Muğla together with Muğla Fire Department Head Mehmet Karyağdı. Asst. Prof. Abdurrahman İnce reminded that the extinguishment of forest fires is given to the general directorate of forestry in the constitution and forest law. İnce listed the steps to be followed in the fire extinguishing works as follows:

-The General Directorate of Forestry should act in constant cooperation and coordination with the municipal fire departments, which are the largest extinguishing team in the local area, in extinguishing works.

-The extinguishment of forest fires should not be left only to the responsibility of the general directorate of forestry, but should be considered as a total responsibility involving all relevant public, private sector and NGOs.

-It should be ensured that the goal of the teams carrying out forest fire extinguishing work is to focus only on extinguishing and that their other needs are met and they do not think about them.

-Forest fire extinguishing activities should be carried out on a 24-hour basis from the air and land.

-Extinguishing coordination should be carried out by the general directorate of forestry and the coordination of all other needs contributing to extinguishing efforts should be carried out by AFAD.

-Support forces coming from provinces outside the province where the fire has occurred and extinguishing facilities are insufficient should be carried out under the coordination of AFAD and the General Directorate of Forestry.

-For forest fires, instead of seasonal extinguishing personnel, year-round personnel should be employed and these personnel should consist of residents in that region. Team numbers should be formed in such a way as to make intervention from the ground effective.

-Cover fires or fires that do not have high energy and whose working conditions cannot harm people and vehicles should be intervened directly by people who are trained and certified in this field.

-All institutions responding to forest fires need to have radio and other communication systems in common.

-Vehicle tracking systems should be established and coordinated from a common platform so that forest fire brigades and other water tankers responding to the fire can be coordinated at the fire site.

-No civilian elements other than the teams intervening in the fire area should be allowed.

-A sufficiently wide fire extinguishing line should be opened around the fire with the work machine. The priority in forest fires is to control the fire. If the burning forest area is opened with a strip of sufficient width and the fire is prevented from growing by ensuring that it remains within this area, this should be stated as 'the fire is under control'.

-In cases where it would not be safe and appropriate to approach the fire in high-energy, especially fast-moving fires in the form of hill fires, it is usually in two ways to control the fire without directly intervening in the fire. The first is the method of extinguishing the fire with manpower, construction machinery and equipment at a suitable distance to work, and the second is the counter-fire method in order to stop the dangerous fires by transferring to large areas or at least to reduce the rate of progress of the fire in cases where it is believed that the fire cannot be stopped.

-The number of fire first responders to be deployed during the fire season should be increased and mobile teams should be deployed in sensitive areas.

-Citizens living in fire-sensitive areas should be given the fastest way to train the vehicles used in the fire such as construction machinery, water-tender, graders, etc. İnce said: "Caution should be taken at all times, not only during the fire period.".

Referring to what should be done and paid attention to after the fire, Asst. Prof. Abdurrahman İnce emphasized the need to be careful when re-entering a burned area as flaming may occur. Stating that the cause of the fire should be investigated well, İnce said that the necessary measures should be taken to prevent a fire again for the same reason and completed his remarks as follows:

"Reforestation and greening of the burned areas should be carried out considering the land structure and climate. Reforestation of burned areas should be started quickly and inspections of these areas should be intensified. Necessary precautions should be taken for secondary disasters such as erosion-related floods caused by forest fires. Activities to prevent forest fires should be started from the fall semester when the fire season ends, not to be compressed into a short period before the summer period. All public and private sector responsibilities should be fulfilled in coordination, continuity and cooperation with the General Directorate of Forestry. Not only during the forest fire period, but also in other periods, preventive and protective measures should be taken into consideration. The General Directorate of Forestry should increase its cooperation with all its stakeholders in the local area.".

 

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)