The Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Podgorica has opened a case regarding the death of a member of the Montenegrin Army Dejan Božović, who died on August 12th last year while extinguishing a large fire in Kuči.
This follows from the response provided by the ODT to "Vijesti" after questions about the outcomes of the proceedings regarding the fires during August last year that were determined or suspected to have been caused by human factors.
"Regarding your questions, we would like to inform you that the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica has opened a case regarding the death of a DB soldier who participated in extinguishing the fire in Kuči, and a case has also been opened regarding the fire in the village of Đurkovići in Piperi. Both cases are under investigation," the ODT responded.
The prosecutor's office did not say what specifically is being investigated in the case related to Božović's death.
"To protect the interests of the proceedings, it is not possible to provide further details at this time," they stated.
Božović, a junior sergeant in the Army of Montenegro, was killed on August 12, 2025, while fighting a fire in the Kuča area, while his colleague, Sergeant Marko Iković, was seriously injured.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense at the time, the water tanker they were driving overturned and slid down a steep slope next to the road to the town of Kupusci.
The Ministry of Defense then described the event as an accident and announced that the Montenegrin Army, in cooperation with the competent authorities, is conducting an investigation to determine its cause and circumstances.
Božović was 41 years old, a member of the First Infantry Battalion, serving in the Army since 2006, and is survived by his wife and four children.
The day after the accident, the Chief of General Staff of the Army of Montenegro Miodrag Vuksanović He told Television Vijesti that he had formed a commission to determine the circumstances of the incident.
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SPECIAL INVESTIGATION DUE TO FIRE IN ĐURKOVIĆI
The ODT also told "Vijesti" that a special case has been formed regarding last year's fire in the village of Đurkovići in Piperi.
The area was among the hardest hit during the multi-day fires in August 2025.
Acting Commander of the Podgorica Protection and Rescue Service Nikola Bojanovic announced on August 11 that buildings and houses had been damaged in a fire in Đurkovići, while at that time it was not known how many had been completely destroyed.
A few days later, it was announced that a preliminary police finding showed that the fire in Đurkovići was most likely caused by spontaneous combustion of electrical conductors in the low-voltage network.
According to information published at the time, this version of events was supported by surveillance camera footage, but a final report was awaited.
LAST AUGUST, FIRES BURNT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY FOR DAYS
The questions were sent to the prosecutor's office at a time when Montenegro is once again facing a large number of fires, with the intention of determining the epilogue of last year's cases in which there was suspicion that the fire was caused by man.
August 2025 was marked by large fires in the territory of Podgorica and several other municipalities.
The fire raged for days in Piperi, Kuči, Fundina, the Tuzi area, Danilovgrad, Nikšić, Šavnik, Bijelo Polje and other places.
At one point, the most critical situation was in Piperi, Kuči and Topolovo near Danilovgrad, and Montenegro sought help from other countries through international mechanisms.
In addition to local firefighters and members of the Army, teams and aircraft from several countries also participated in extinguishing the fire. Austria and Switzerland sent firefighters, while aerial capabilities from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Italy also participated in extinguishing the fire.
At several locations in the Podgorica area, fires lasted for days. In mid-August, firefighters intervened simultaneously in Piperi, Kučki koriti, Dajbabe, Bioč and other areas, while aircraft were deployed according to priorities.
During last year's fire season, police also reported cases in which fires were suspected to be human-caused.
In Podgorica, a fourteen-year-old from the village of Bezjovo in Kuči was suspected of causing a fire on his parents' property, after which the fire spread to a wider area, while in Bijelo Polje, a man was arrested on suspicion of causing an open fire.
Due to these and other cases, "Vijesti" requested information from the prosecutor's office on how many cases were filed regarding the fire from August last year, how many people were involved in those cases, how many people were charged, and what the outcome of the proceedings has been so far.
Data was also requested on the number of final convictions, sentences imposed, cases still pending, and locations to which cases in which indictments were filed or verdicts were issued relate.
Minor suspected in Kuči, man arrested in Bijelo Polje
During the fires in August 2025, the police also reported on specific cases in which there was suspicion that the fire was caused by a human.
The Podgorica police suspected a 14-year-old boy from the village of Bezjovo in Kuči of starting a fire on his parents' property, which then spread to a wider area. The case was handed over to the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica.
In Bijelo Polje, police arrested JA from Pljevlja on suspicion of causing an open fire in the town of Bijov Grob on August 10th.
The police then announced that it was suspected that he had set fire to dry grass and low vegetation with an open flame, after which he was no longer able to control the fire, which spread to surrounding properties and caused significant material damage.
He was charged with the criminal offense of causing general danger.
Fires are active again across Montenegro
The issue of responsibility and the cause of the fire was brought up again this August when firefighters and other services again intervened for days in several areas of the country.
During August this year, fires were active in the areas of Bar, Cetinje, Kolašin, Herceg Novi and Ulcinj, among others.
At the beginning of the month, the Ministry of Interior announced that aircraft from the Directorate for Protection and Rescue and the Army of Montenegro were deployed to several fire sites, while the Minister of Interior Danilo Šaranović repeatedly appealed to citizens not to light fires in the open.
The Police Directorate announced on August 13 that it was taking measures to determine the cause of the fires that were active in several municipalities and regions and that police officers had been deployed to the field, while drones were also used for surveillance.
The police stated that drones are used for timely detection of new fires, identification of their sources and collection of data that may be significant for determining the circumstances of their occurrence, as well as for identifying persons who could possibly be responsible for causing them.
A day later, Šaranović announced that the entire available fleet of drones of the Police Administration and the Protection and Rescue Directorate was engaged in day and night surveillance of the terrain, including thermal imaging, to detect fires and suspicious persons.
He also announced the prosecution of persons found to have caused fires through illegal actions.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced on August 17 that drones from the Directorate and Police Administration in the Pričelje area near Podgorica were used to detect fires and suspicious persons, and reconnaissance flights covered Pričelje, Drezga towards Piperi, Rogama, Spuž and the wider Danilovgrad area.
According to the Ministry of Interior, drones were previously used to monitor the areas of Podgorica, Danilovgrad, Cetinje and Tuzi.
On the same day, fires were still active in the Herceg Novi and Ulcinj areas, while those in Kotor, Danilovgrad and Kolašin were under control.
In the Herceg Novi area, the fire was burning along the Baošići-Bijela-Zelenika-Đenovići stretch, and in the Ulcinj area, along the Vladimir-Klezna-Gač-Zoganje-Briska gora stretch.
A fire also broke out near Virpazar on August 17, where a woman and child were evacuated during the intervention, while rail traffic between Bar and Podgorica was temporarily suspended due to the fire.
The Ministry of Interior announced yesterday that all hot spots in Montenegro are under control, including the fire near Virpazar, and that firefighters who were engaged as helpers in other municipalities have returned to their units.
During a tour of the areas affected by fires, Minister of Ecology Damjan Ćulafić said yesterday that two factors that influence the occurrence and spread of fires are the human factor and climate change, recalling that one human life was lost during last year's fire season.
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