Turkey targets quicker response to forest fires

BURSA - Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Ministry has set a new target of shortening response to forest fires to 10 minutes from the current response time of 12 minutes.

Back in 2002, the response time was around as much as 40 minutes. However, thanks to a better equipped fire fleet, teams managed to reduce the response time over the past five years.

The country has ramped up investments in equipment and new technology to meet the 10-minute response time target set for 2023.

Turkey is now capable of intervening in forest fires in a more effective way by using thermal drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles as well as aircraft and helicopters.

An 18,000-person team stands ready to fight forest fires with nearly 2,600 vehicles and more than 1,000 water trucks. Two 10-ton amphibian aircraft and six helicopters also support the teams on the ground.

Last year, nearly 2,700 fires destroyed more than 11,000 hectares of forests, up from 2,200 fires that broke out, which perished 5,600 hectares of forest, in 2018.