Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev held a meeting on preparation for the fire-dangerous period with the participation of Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nysanbayev and Minister for Emergency Situations Chingis Arinov. 

To date, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has 441 firefighting units. In the regions 230 voluntary formations have been created, as well as 709 posts of local executive bodies. Deputy Prime Minister instructed to speed up the creation of another 49 fire stations where there is no state fire service. 

As part of preparations for the fire-dangerous period, space monitoring is being carried out over an area of 272.5 million hectares. However, data from satellites are uploaded to the EMERCOM station several hours after a complete overflight of the country's territory. Today ICRIAP is working on the creation of a virtual station, which will reduce the time between fixing a fire and uploading the satellite image to 20-40 minutes. 

Ensuring the safety of the forest fund and preparation for the fire season are under special control of the President and the Government. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources checked 158 state forest owners. As a result of the inspection, the head of the ministry, Yerlan Nysanbayev, stated that the Semei Ormani reserve, as well as Akmola, Kostanai and Pavlodar regions, were not fully prepared for possible fires. 

Among the violations were identified the lack of fuel and lubricants reserve, emergency condition of forest fire stations buildings or their absence, lack of fire towers, wear and tear of special equipment, etc. Also among the frequent violations: lack of radios and shortage of overalls. 

As Kanat Bozumbayev noted, last year's tragedy in the reserve ‘Semey Ormani’ should not be repeated and instructed to take immediate measures to eliminate the identified violations.  

"We well remember the consequences of large natural fires that occurred in the region of Abay and Kostanay region. I want to pay special attention to the mandatory provision of each employee with firefighting equipment, radios and necessary equipment," Kanat Bozumbayev said. 

Following the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister instructed regional akimats to develop and approve regional plans of measures to reduce the risk of natural fires within a week. 

"Akims of regions are personally responsible for the implementation of measures of regional plans," Kanat Bozumbayev said. 

The Ministry for Emergency Situations is also instructed to make proposals within a week to increase the volume of helicopter services for aerial visual monitoring and firefighting. 

The Ministry of Ecology has been instructed to intensify work on the installation of early fire detection systems on the territory of the forest fund and material and technical re-equipment of forest and environmental institutions. 

In addition, during the period of high fire danger, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Akimats will take measures to prevent individuals from staying on the territory of the forest fund, including to exclude possible arson. In case of detection of such facts, citizens will be prosecuted in accordance with the law. 

#Kanat Bozumbayev #Ministry for Emergency Situation #Regions