Total of 4m EUR to be invested in equipping of 18 fire stations alongside "Corridor 10"

The Chief of the Sector for Emergency Situations within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Predrag Marić, said that 18 fire-rescue stations on "Corridor 10" in Serbia would be equipped with all-terrain vehicles for reactions in case of fire and other accidents.

- These all-terrain vehicles are very fast and suitable for help in rescuing people from vehicles and providing medical care for them - Marić told "Beta" agency and added that the project was worth about 4m EUR.

According to the data provided by the Ministry of Infrastructure, "Corridor 10" through Serbia is 835 km long, 300 km of which have not been built yet. The projected value of works in the period 2008-2011 is 1.6 billion EUR.

Marić said that the procurement of two vehicles for extinguishing fire in tunnels was in the pipeline, as well as equipping of one helicopter of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for taking care of seriously injured people who needed to be transported to medical centers in Belgrade.

Marić said that the level of readiness for fire protection had been raised since June because of higher temperatures.

He said that small number of firemen not only in Belgrade, but also in the cities in provinces, such as Sombor, Kikinda and Leskovac, represented serious problem.

- The Sector for Emergency Situations has 3,000 firemen, and we need, at least, 7,000 - said Marić and added that that was the reason why Serbia required very good organization and mobility of all fire units.

Marić said that 250 new firemen would be employed by the end of the year, as well as that 80 fire vehicles had been procured in the last three years.

Marić said that the Law on fire protection would be forwarded to the Parliament of Serbia in autumn, and that it dealt with the issue of finance in field of fire protection "in a thorough way".

Marić announced that the campaign for advising kids on how to behave in case of fire would be organized at the beginning of school year by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Education of Serbia.

Speaking of the danger of forest fires during summer months, Marić appealed to picnickers "to be very careful when lighting fire and to make sure that fire is put out when they are done with the picnic".