An insufficient number of firefighters, fire engines, trucks, uniforms, as well as equipment for extinguishing forest fires are among the key shortcomings faced by several protection and rescue services in Montenegro, especially during the summer fire season.
Montenegro has been battling a wildfire for the past ten days that threatened to engulf multiple areas and buildings.
It burned in Podgorica, Danilovgrad, Nikšić, Bar, Budva, Bijelo Polje... While the fire devastated the coast and the central part of the country, the general impression is that this fire season was also greeted with a shortage of firefighters and equipment.
The Capital City's Protection and Rescue Service (SZS) confirmed to "Vijesti" that the existing structure has a shortage of specialized equipment - uniforms for extinguishing forest fires and ladders.
In addition to equipment, they are also short of personnel, namely firefighters.
"The Protection and Rescue Service currently has 24 working fire trucks. Personal equipment includes firefighting suits and work uniforms... The service is facing an insufficient number of employees, both operational personnel (firefighters-rescuers), and administrative and management staff," said the acting commander of the Podgorica Fire Department. Nikola Bojanovic.
Responding to the question of the extent to which it is possible to hire seasonal firefighters and rescuers, Bojanović says that this is done "in accordance with the Law on Protection and Rescue and other applicable regulations, exclusively during the fire season."
"It is the obligation of every candidate to meet the requirements for a firefighter-rescuer. Before starting their engagement, they undergo training within the unit, while most of them already have years of experience in performing seasonal work," he emphasized.
Owner of the company “Eagle Hills Montenegro” Mohamed Alabar donated 50.000 euros to the Podgorica Protection and Rescue Service due to, as previously announced, the multi-day fight against fires that threatened Montenegro.
Bojanović told the editorial staff that these funds, as well as all other donations, will be "directed in the best interests of the Service."
"Primarily for the procurement of new equipment, as well as for the rehabilitation and improvement of existing equipment. The Commander of the Service does not have the authority to independently dispose of these funds, given that they are kept on the account of the Capital City. Each procurement and investment is carried out exclusively with the consent of the Secretariat for Financial Affairs and Budget Analysis, as well as the Service for Public Procurement and Commercial Affairs, which ensures complete transparency of the procedure," explained Bojanović, emphasizing that this will improve "the work and equipment of the Service, and thus increase the level of protection of citizens."
Tripković: Chronic lack of mechanization
Commander of the Nikšić Protection and Rescue Service Goran Tripković He said that the fire and rescue unit "made sure to procure all personal and collective protective equipment."
According to him, they have almost everything they need in terms of personal equipment. They also have plenty of equipment for extinguishing fires indoors and outdoors, he explains.
"The shortage in our service is reflected in the insufficient number of vehicles that would be used for interventions, delivery and transportation of personnel and equipment. There is a lack of specialized vehicles for extinguishing fires exclusively in the open air, ladder trucks for fires in multi-storey buildings, small vehicles for difficult-to-access terrain, and the vehicles currently in the Service are more than 15 years old, so we should also think about rejuvenating the current fleet."
He points out that the SZS currently has 79 employees - 64 operatives and 15 in the administrative, preventive and technical sectors. As he said, 12 candidates are also undergoing training.
Tripković emphasizes that "the chronic shortage is reflected in mechanization", as well as the lack of "sophisticated pieces of equipment".
"As with thermal imaging cameras, drones, specialized early warning systems for fires... The number of personnel that could be employed must be discussed so that all aspects of the 'defense' of the territory being defended must be considered. We believe that the number of firefighters must be greater. In agreement with the local government and possible changes to legal solutions, we can increase the number of operatives who will be employed in the service," said the commander of the Nikšić-based SZS.
He emphasized that "there is no staff to fill the units" on the labor market.
"The main reason is the lack of an appropriate institution that would conduct training. We, at the Service, recognized the problem, with the consent of the Municipality of Nikšić, as well as the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MESI), organized the first training according to the curriculum that we developed, guided by years of experience in this business. We licensed lecturers, instructors, signed a cooperation agreement, and the only 'paper' that is missing is the confirmation of the firefighter-rescuer training program. Although we have sent urgent requests to the relevant ministries several times, there has been no response to our requests, so we suspect that someone in the system is obstructing, for reasons known to them, and thereby endangering the sustainability of the entire system," Tripković estimates.
SZS Danilovgrad: Urgently adopt the Fire Protection Law
The Protection and Rescue Service in Danilovgrad emphasized that their equipment is regularly maintained and serviced, adding that all employees of the SZS "possess certified personal protective equipment for firefighting."
"Outdoor firefighting suits, helmets, gloves, boots, self-contained breathing apparatus, or isolation apparatus. The Service has three firefighting vehicles: an IVECO Eurotrakker from 2005, a Mercedes Unimog, manufactured in 2009, and a Mercedes Actros from 2010, as well as a Nissan Patrol manufactured in 1992 and an Isuzu D Max from 2019," said the SZS, headed by Dejan Marunovic, adding that the service has 19 firefighters and rescuers.
They emphasize that it is necessary to acquire a fire truck with a capacity of 6.000 to 7.000 liters of water.
"As well as a forest fire vehicle with a capacity of 300 to 400 liters of water, the procurement of personal protective equipment for approaching fires in enclosed spaces, backpacks, fire hoses, lamps and masks for fires in open spaces, fire blankets for extinguishing fires on vehicles, after the summer fire season, servicing pumps on vehicles, equipment for rescue from heights and depths," they said, emphasizing that seasonal workers "are not engaged."
The SZS in Danilovgrad also emphasizes that it is necessary to "urgently pass the Law on Fire Protection, resolve the issue of firefighters and rescuers in accordance with European standards, and adopt the Regulation on the Protection of Forests from Fire."
"We believe that it is necessary for the state to stand behind the protection and rescue system, because the municipalities themselves do not have the means and strength to provide the means. It is necessary to procure firefighting vehicles (the last major procurement was made in 2010, which means that in most municipalities vehicles that are at least fifteen years old are in operational use). These are vehicles that are used daily for interventions, which are most often not maintained regularly and which, during their exploitation, most often use unpaved roads, rural, field and forest roads, which greatly affect their condition. Vehicles of this age, although often with few kilometers traveled, but with many working hours, are unreliable and subject to frequent breakdowns... Personal and collective protective equipment play an important role in protecting firefighters from extreme working conditions...", they said.
Fire trucks in Mojkovac in poor condition
The Kolašin Protection and Rescue Service currently has fire trucks, including two Mercedes Unimog vehicles manufactured in 2010, and one FAP 16 26 from 2005, which is technically defective and not registered.
The Service also includes a 2009 Mercedes unimog truck, equipped for technical interventions and assistance, two off-road vehicles, and two snowmobiles.
As the acting commander of the service told "Vijesti" Bosko Šuković, the biggest problem is inadequate infrastructure. Kolašin firefighters and rescuers currently work in the premises of the former administrative building of the former agricultural company “Sinjajevina”, while the garages are located 50 meters away. The building is energy inefficient, so the Service lacks a fire station.
"In terms of equipment, new fire trucks, firefighting suits, battery-powered demolition tools, a universal mountain rescue stretcher and a spinal board are particularly needed. In terms of personnel, the service needs to hire at least two permanent firefighters and rescuers, as well as trainees, but this requires the consent of the Ministry of Finance, which the Municipality, despite repeated requests, has not yet received," said Šuković.
The Service currently employs 14 firefighters-rescuers, of which 12 are employed on a permanent basis, two on a fixed-term basis, while one is an intern. The average age of Kolašin firefighters is 43 years.
During the past and present year, the SZS has acquired some equipment - work uniforms, part of the necessary number of suits for approaching fires, fire hoses, backpacks and apparatus, and regular truck and pump services have also been carried out.
The Mojkovac Fire Department has four fire trucks, two of which are over 50 years old, and the rest are about 16 years old.
According to the words Marinko Medojević, the commander of the SZS in that municipality, the vehicles are in extremely poor condition.
"We are missing at least one vehicle with a tanker, as well as two young firefighters. We have equipment for forest fires, last year we purchased six Motorolas for communication, backpacks and flails, suits, a pump... This year we received a truck through a donation, but it is in poor condition and at least 10.000 euros need to be invested to make it roadworthy," said Medojević.
The average age of firefighters in Mojkovac is 41 years old, and the commander of the Fire Department said that out of a total of 10 firefighters, two are over 55 years old.
SZS Budva welcomed the fire season with relatively new equipment
The Budva Protection and Rescue Service, as told to "Vijesti", has 88 operationally active firefighters and rescuers with relatively new equipment and machinery.
President of the Budva Municipality Nikola Jovanovic He promised to allocate four million euros from this year's budget so that Budva firefighters will be equipped with the most modern equipment in Montenegro.
Head of the Budva Protection and Rescue Service Dragan Božović He pointed out that when he took over the management eight years ago, "this service literally had nothing, the firefighters were practically without equipment, and the vehicles were worn out, while some were not functional."
"In the past eight years, with the help of the Municipality of Budva, two assault vehicles, three forest fire tankers, five small vehicles, and one pickup truck have been purchased. We have provided firefighters with firefighting suits, which they never had before, and two sets of work suits for each of the 88 firefighters. We have built a canopy for fire trucks, purchased 20 sets of radio stations (the price of one is 1.800 euros), we have renovated four old trucks ourselves, we have purchased eight sets of breathing apparatus, each for 2.800 euros, 20 spare bottles, and a compressor for filling bottles. All of this has been provided for the past eight years, because the Service practically had no equipment," said Božović.
However, as he pointed out, the problem is five old tanker trucks, which are more than 45 years old, and which, after the meeting with Jovanović, will be replaced with new ones.
"The municipality plans to allocate money to complete the equipment of firefighters, which would provide Budva's firefighter-rescuer with the most modern equipment. The plan is also to purchase a vehicle, a ladder truck, the first in Montenegro, which would enable our Service to extinguish fires on higher floors of buildings, as well as for rescue operations," Božović pointed out.
Božović emphasized that when the fire raged over Buljarica, it was shown that the Budva Service was ready to face challenges in the field and successfully protect the property of all citizens, but that the state was the one that needed to provide planes and helicopters to fight the fire.
Equipment is not a want, but a necessity
Commander of the Bar Protection and Rescue Service Aco Vulević, told "Vijesti" that equipment is always needed in their work, and one of the reasons for this is that they have to keep up with the development of time, infrastructure, nature...
No intervention is the same, he explains, so every terrain is different and not repeated. In these situations, the need for different equipment arises, and no type of equipment is a "want" but exclusively a necessity.
"What the services need to do is monitor the development of the environment and the country in which they operate. We also need to take into account some major natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods," said Vulević, emphasizing that when it comes to protection and rescue services, not only firefighting equipment is needed.
Fires, accidents and incidents require different types of interventions - in underground garages, at great heights, at depths...
The Bar service has two boats, which are currently "just standing around", but, according to Vulević, you never know when they will be needed and whether two will be enough. However, he emphasizes, they must be prepared for unforeseen situations and must not let the consequences dictate their equipment, but rather be prepared in advance.
"Whenever we acquire something, we will still be missing something. There will always be something missing," Vulević said, explaining that their equipment is also "consumable goods" that are damaged and lost in the field.
That's why they are now in the process of purchasing waterproof work clothes that will make their work easier during rain and possible floods. These are clothes that will protect them and allow them to work more easily in rainy conditions, so as not to damage their firefighting clothes.
They also purchased uniforms for use in the service's premises, so that it would always be in the best possible condition for interventions and operations. Safety is their top priority, claims Vulević, and personal and collective protective equipment is the first level of that.
"When we go out into the field, we end up with a lot of these harmful and carcinogenic particles on our suits and clothes. That's why it's important to have work clothes to wear, to avoid spreading it, not only in the station, but also in our homes," he specified.
They are also purchasing a new fire truck, which will be the eighth in the fleet of the Bar Protection and Rescue Service. In addition, they have a passenger vehicle for transporting firefighters and rescuers, two off-road vehicles for forest fires, and one command vehicle.
Using funds from the Directorate for Protection and Rescue within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this year they purchased a tactical fan with a foam generator and a smoke detector, said Vulević, which they need for interventions in basements and underground garages.
"We never have enough equipment, resources and personnel. In addition, the most important trinity for us is equipment, personnel and training. Equipment means nothing without training, and there can be no training without personnel," he emphasized and said that all of this is connected.
Officers must be prepared and creative, he says, because every action and intervention is unique, so even with full equipment, improvisation is often necessary.
What they currently need, and which requires a "serious investment", are auto mechanic ladders for interventions at high altitudes. These are ladders with a basket at the end, which will immensely facilitate firefighting, rescue, evacuation tasks...
The ladders, Vulević said, cost about a million euros, which he says is a serious sum, but that they are in the process of considering and obtaining the conditions to purchase them next year.
"Firefighting is an expensive, but necessary sport. All equipment is very expensive, because it is not ordinary, but is made so that we are safe and then more efficient in our work," Vulević concluded.
However, he concluded that there is no price to be placed on the safety of rescuers, firefighters, but also the lives of citizens, their property, nature and the environment. Therefore, he assessed, it is very important to find and allocate funds for intensive and regular training of officers.
A new building awaits in Tivat
The professional Protection and Rescue Service (SZS) of the Municipality of Tivat and three local voluntary fire departments (DVD) currently have a total of about 130 professional and volunteer firefighters-rescuers. If necessary, they are joined in interventions by another dozen professional firefighters from the so-called Luštica Bay Emergency Services enterprise unit from the tourist resort of the same name.
"The Tivat SZS currently has 36 members, which is the number of systematized jobs we have. All of our members are properly trained and have all the necessary certificates of completed training, and they all have sets of personal protective equipment because this has been the focus of allocations for new equipment in the past few years," the commander of the Tivat SZS told "Vijesti". Milorad Giljaca.
The biggest problem is the space in which they operate, because the Tivat Fire Department has been temporarily located in an inadequate building of the former Arsenal facility in Opatovo for three years, so firefighters live in containers, and this complex itself is dislocated in relation to the most densely populated areas of Tivat.
The new Fire Station is being built on the site of the current police station across from Porto Montenegro in Tivat, and the Municipality of Tivat is working on this together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as the new facility will, in addition to the Fire Station, also contain the premises of the Tivat Security Department and the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Branch for Public Documents and Foreigners.
Giljača expects that a tender for the selection of a contractor for this multi-million-dollar facility will be announced soon. For now, however, there is no specific deadline for when Tivat, after decades of waiting, should finally receive an adequate building for the city's Fire Department.
"It is mainly due to the fact that we have not had an adequate Fire Department for decades, that is, that our vehicles are not garaged as they should be, that we have not made any major purchases of new vehicles so far. However, since the average age of the SZS vehicle fleet has in the meantime reached 17 years, a €350.000 project is underway to purchase a new bulk fire truck, which I hope will be delivered by the end of this year or early next year," said Giljača.
In addition, the Municipality of Tivat has also announced a tender for the procurement of various technical equipment for the needs of its Social Security System, with a total estimated value of 64.000 euros including VAT.
By the way, the last new vehicle, the so-called small assault vehicle on a "fiat fullback" chassis, was received by the Tivat Fire Department in 2019.
In addition, the SZS currently has two field command vehicles, two large assault vehicles, one forest fire vehicle, a technical vehicle, a combined vehicle and an escort vehicle, and one terrain search jeep.
Fireboat "Jovana"
The SZS owns one main and two auxiliary fire engines, which are given to some of the local volunteer fire departments for use.
Tivat is also unique in that the local SZS has at its disposal, for firefighting and rescue interventions at sea, a specially built fireboat "Jovana" and two fast RHIB vessels, each eight meters long, equipped with fire pumps, which are owned by the Porto Montenegro marina, with which the SZS Tivat has a contract for business and technical cooperation.
"All our members are equipped with firefighting overalls, firefighting suits, helmets, undercaps, protective masks with a face shield, protective gloves and boots for firefighting, as well as special suits for forest fires and technical interventions. Everyone also has gloves for technical interventions, protective half-masks for open fires and flashlights," said Giljača, adding that the Tivat Fire Department also has sufficient quantities of harnesses with bottles and breathing apparatus, spare air bottles, masks for rescuing people from fires in enclosed spaces, as well as other necessary personal and collective protective equipment, and it also has three special asbestos suits for entering a fire, and two suits and one decontamination suit that are used in chemical or bacteriological accidents.
The SZS also has an adequate number and quantity of other special tools and equipment for various types of interventions and rescues from fires, traffic accidents, floods, for rescue from depths and heights, as well as equipment for emergency evacuation and immobilization of injured persons. There is also an adequate set of communication equipment - a radio station, and a drone for aerial reconnaissance and search of terrain with a thermal camera. The total capacity of all its vehicles is 58.000 liters of water and 1.000 liters of foam.
Despite certain administrative and legal difficulties, the project of installing modern thermal imaging cameras on mobile phone repeaters, which enable early detection of smoke and fire, is gradually being implemented in Tivat, Giljača points out.
Ulcinj: New uniforms needed
Chief of Rescue Service Ulcinj Abdullah Nimanbegu He said that this municipal department, through projects and public tenders, acquired equipment worth a total of around 150 thousand euros this year.
"One of the newest drones on the market with a thermal imaging camera for night observation, search and fire detection was acquired, then 37 protective helmets were purchased, which are among the best on the market with an integrated lamp, a set of protective suits for approaching fires in enclosed spaces, isolating breathing apparatus, new nano bottles and a compressor for filling, demolition tools, scissors, a cutter and a spreader, all battery-operated, for technical interventions, accidents and earthquakes, flood equipment, dry suits, water pumps and an outboard motor for boats and inflatables owned by the service. We are also opening a new base in Štoj soon," Nimanbeg told "Vijesti".
He stated that the service currently employs 37 permanent firefighters and 13 seasonal workers. He added that the problem they face is adequate truck servicing and tender procedures.
"At this moment, it is necessary for all trucks to be serviced, to acquire a smaller fire truck in case of interventions in inaccessible places and narrow streets such as Liman, Stari grad, Potok, Mala plaža... It is also necessary to acquire a tanker truck - a fire truck with a larger water capacity, as well as new uniforms for forest fires to replace the existing uniforms," said Nimanbegu.
Cetinje: There is a shortage of new vehicles for firefighters and rescuers
The Protection and Rescue Service in Cetinje told "Vijesti" that they have complete personal equipment.
"The mechanization includes four trucks, three jeeps, one sled and one four-wheeler. We currently have 26 operatives and eight volunteers, a total of 34 people," said the Service, whose head is Miloš Ćecanović.
They reminded that they are currently lacking new vehicles for firefighters and rescuers.
"...Because the existing ones are outdated. We also need more employees. Seasonal workers are hired through contracts, and training is conducted in cooperation with the Directorate, with regular exercises and training sessions," they said.
Kotor: They are not hiring seasonal workers
The Kotor Fire Department has no shortage of protective equipment for firefighters and rescuers for outdoor and indoor fires.
According to the commander of that service Maksim Mandic, this also applies to the Voluntary Fire Department (DVD) “Bogoljub Brezić” from Perast.
"As for vehicles, we can be satisfied. We have 14 vehicles of different types, which, in terms of equipment, according to the number of inhabitants and the size of the municipality, places us among the best equipped. The fleet of DVD from Perast is of an older generation and they should replace some of their vehicles. Their fleet has seven vehicles of different types," he said.
He reminded that the Kotor Fire Department has 24 professional firefighters, adding that there are 12 of them working in the Perast Fire Department "along with about twenty volunteers."
"Currently, there is a shortage of new ladder trucks with a reach height of 39 meters. The price of such a vehicle is around 1.300.000 euros, as well as a rescue and support vehicle for the DVD from Perast. There is always a shortage of personnel. It is very difficult to find quality personnel, or candidates who will be willing to study for the profession of firefighter. We are currently short of five firefighters according to the current systematization."
Mandić emphasized that seasonal workers are not engaged in the Kotor Protection and Rescue Service, because "they have no basis in law for that." He also said that the Kotor Protection and Rescue Service is very much needed:
"But without passing the professional exam, it is not possible to work in the SZS without a previous year of internship or volunteering."
He reminded that training of new staff is carried out at the Kotor State Vocational Training Center, but also in training centers abroad.
"Training at the Kotor Fire Department is carried out based on an annual work plan, and is conducted by firefighters who have completed all training in foreign training centers. Supervision and additional training are carried out by the commander...".
Bijelo Polje: Instead of the required 32, they have 18 operatives
Head of the Protection and Rescue Service in Bijelo Polje Edin Kolić He said that the unit currently has 18 operatives, which is small compared to the dispersion of that northern municipality.
"Of that number, two will retire by the end of the year, while an advertisement is underway for the recruitment of 3 firefighters-rescuers for an indefinite period. In addition, we have 5 interns and one volunteer. We are awaiting approval from the Ministry of Finance in order to strengthen the preventive services. Given that our municipality is heavily mined and the number of inhabitants is a parameter, the ideal number of operatives would be 32, which makes 4 shifts of 7 people and one standby," said Kolić.
In the previous year, as he explained, they managed to secure a significant portion of equipment for firefighters and rescuers, so a set of summer and winter equipment for on-duty duty was purchased, a set of equipment for forest fires (gloves, masks, boots, suits), and through donations from the Bulgarian Embassy, they received a vehicle for forest fires.
"During this year, with the support of the Local Government, a technical vehicle was purchased, a contract was concluded with a supplier under a tender for fire access equipment - 12 sets worth around 25.000 euros. We also hosted training on rapid water, accidents, fires in enclosed spaces, as well as training for command staff, which we conducted in cooperation with the Firefighters' Association of Montenegro and the "Florijan" organization from the United Kingdom. In addition, a lot of small protective equipment was purchased, and by the end of the year, it is planned to purchase a battery-powered demolition tool, as well as equip one vehicle with an upgraded pump and a 400-liter tank for rapid interventions," said Kolić, noting that most of the vehicles are old-fashioned and more than 40 years old.
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