TÜYAK (Turkish Fire Protection and Education Foundation) made statements against the fires that have rapidly destroyed our country’s national assets in the last few days.
“We express our deep sorrow for our citizens who were injured and died in the fire, and express our condolences to the relatives of those who lost their lives and to our country.
It is a fact that we all know that the increase in temperature with the climate crisis has increased the frequency and severity of forest fires. According to the data of the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM), 29 thousand 965 forest fires broke out from 2009 to 2020, and a total of 98 thousand 950 hectares of forest area was burned. In 2020, 20 thousand 971 hectares were burned with 3 thousand 399 fires.
Due to urbanization and development, forest areas have begun to fragment in recent years, when construction has increased rapidly. The increase in settlement within the forest area means that the risk of fire also increases. It has been observed that the early intervention systems created for fires, the causes of which we do not know, are insufficient. These events will continue, we fear, in the coming days.
It is vital to make preventive arrangements before the fire starts, to eliminate the elements that may cause the fire, and to take the necessary precautions during the fire response. Precautions and measures, which are created based on a plan made by evaluating the fire risks of both the forest and the living area, should be designed gradually, taking into account the elements of raising awareness of the local people, settlement and urbanization. Areas with a high probability of fire should be identified, and if necessary, these areas should be separated from other areas. If discrimination cannot be made, the measures determined for the highest risk area should be spread over the area.
TÜYAK Foundation and Association have made an effort to raise awareness and raise awareness in our society on fire protection. All the work it has carried out to date is to draw the attention of the public and non-governmental organizations, especially official institutions, on fire protection. We state that our ongoing work will increasingly continue, and we wish for disaster-free days when the loss of life and property is minimized and we will not have any major losses again.”
