ZAGREB, 10 June 2022 - Croatia's fire protection system is ready for the coming fire season, and more than 22,000 firefighters across the country are equipped and ready to respond at any time, it was said at the Firefighter Operations Command in Divulje outside Split on Friday.

A firefighting exercise, testing the abilities of firefighters for the coming wildfire season, was held at Divulje, and the event was also attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

He said that Croatia has fire forces also for operations in extreme weather conditions and is helping other countries as well, mentioning in that context assistance provided last year to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey and Greece as well as a few months ago to Slovenia.

"Those are examples of our homeland security system and of a wish to contribute to fire prevention, not only at home but elsewhere as well," he said.

Chief Fire Commander Slavko Tucaković said that the Firefighter Operations Command in Divulje would start operating on 13 June while on 23 June firefighters would move from the mainland to the coastal area and islands to help local residents and tourists feel safe in the event of fires.

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May the 14th, 2022 - Dalmatian firefighters have got their hands on some very welcome brand new equipment as the height of the summer season rapidly approaches and temperatures soar, which often results in wildfires being sparked.

As Morski writes, Split-Dalmatia County handed over new communication and surveillance equipment to Dalmatian firefighters recently, and the equipment was procured within an Italian-Croatian cross border project, having been financed from the European Regional Development Fund. The total value of the project stands at a massive 316 thousand euros.

The value of the equipment delivered to Dalmatian firefighters costs 307 thousand kuna, and among the most interesting pieces of the new package delivered was an innovative software platform that integrates institutional and local sources and also takes into account data about fire threats published on social media.

''The platform retrieves data that has been published publicly on social media and filters it using artificial intelligence and sends it directly to the emergency services so that they can better assess the threat and respond in an appropriate manner,'' explained Ognjen Cavar, the project manager.

In addition to constantly equipping Dalmatian firefighters, which is something Split-Dalmatia County uses European Union funds for more than others do, new fire houses are being built on the islands and in the hinterland, as reported by HRT.

''As the crown of all this, we're working on a new training centre in Vucevica which will be of exceptional value as it won't only benefit Dalmatian firefighters but also those from a much wider area and even in the rest of Southeastern Europe,'' emphasised Blazenko Boban, Split-Dalmatia County Prefect.

When it comes to the summer tourist season, when most fires are started and which can result in tremendous damage, the firefighters are as ready to deal with issues as they possibly can be.

''So far, we've had over two thousand interventions, some of them being fires, some being technical interventions. We work all year round and of course we are ready for what may happen this summer,'' stated Ivan Kovacevic.

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ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - Croatian fire chief Slavko Tucaković said on Thursday that the national firefighting system should brace for a tough season.

Addressing a conference of firefighters in Opatija, Tucaković said that the weather forecasts for the spring and the summer show that a very tough season could be expected.

He recalled that in the past period, apart from battling blazes and wildfires, firefighters had been engaged in operations in the aftermath of the two devastating quakes in Zagreb and Sisak County in 2020.

In Zagreb, they participated in 6,000 operations in the wake of the tremor, and in 14,500 interventions following the 29 December 2020 earthquake that hit Sisak-Moslavina County.

Firefighters were thus engaged in rescue operations when 30 people were pulled from rubble or evacuated from damaged buildings in the area of Petrinja, according to Tucaković.

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ZAGREB, 6 April 2022 - Norwegian instructors are training Croatian firefighters in the southern coastal town of Kaštel Sućurac in techniques for extracting people from vehicles involved in traffic accidents, the Croatian Fire Service said on Wednesday.

The training is taking place as part of an international project aimed at increasing firefighters' preparedness and raising awareness of road safety. The theoretical part of the training began on Monday.

Fire chief Slavko Tucaković expressed his satisfaction with the training course and the exchange of experience and knowledge.

Instructor Fredrik Høe said that they were showing the Croatian firefighters the methods they used in Norway in removing casualties from vehicles after a crash, using chains. He noted that the number of road accidents in Croatia was as much as four times higher than in Norway. 

The training is being conducted in cooperation with the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (CTIF).

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ZAGREB, 19 Aug, 2021 - Chief firefighting commander Slavko Tucaković informed the government on Thursday that in the first eight months of 2021, 2,389 fires had occurred in areas of combustible vegetation, or 8% less than the five-year average, however in the last eight weeks, the number of wildfires has risen by 25%.

The area covered by blazes in the first eight months has been 12,207 hectares, or 54% less than the five-year average.

However, extreme weather conditions have fuelled wildfires in the last eight weeks, and as a result the area consumed by those fires has increased by 385%.

The highest number of blazes in rural areas has been registered in Šibenik-Knin County, seven to date.

The biggest wildfire this years has been in the Split hinterland, when it burnt an area 1,643 hectares large near the village of Seget Gornji.

Lion's share of wildfires put out within four hours

Tucaković said that as many as 87% of wildfires in the Croatian coastal area had been extinguished within four hours, which could be interpreted as evidence of the good engagement of firefighting services.

Interior Minister Davor Božinović said that firefighters' interventions in the coastal and Karst regions lasted 2.23 hours on average this year, while in 2020 this average was 3.37 hours.

Croatia's firefighting planes have been deployed abroad to put out fires six times so far this year: once in Greece and once in Turkey and four times in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The allocated funds in the state budget for firefighting services stand at HRK 104 million (€14 million) and so far this year 62 million kuna (€8.3 million) has been disbursed, Defence Minister Mario Banožić said. 

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ZAGREB, 4 Aug, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović, accompanied by Chief Firefighting Commander Slavko Tucaković, visited on Wednesday by helicopter locations devastated by wildfires at Seget Gornji, inland from the southern coastal town of Trogir, the President's Office said in a press release.

Before visiting the fire sites, Milanović discussed the situation at wildfire locations at Seget Gornji and in Mirlović in Šibenik-Knin County with local firefighting officials.

Firefighting representatives briefed the president about the efforts firefighters had made so far, and the assistance provided by the Croatian Army.

The president thanked the firemen and all those who helped put out the wildfires.

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ZAGREB, 30 June 2021 - Construction works on a regional training center for fire-fighters were inaugurated in Brčići in the Vučevica area on Wednesday as part of the Firespill project, which is part of the Italian-Croatian cross-border cooperation program.

The HRK 120 million project is financed with EU funds, including 65 million envisaged for projects in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia.

Inaugurating the works, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said the government gave the land on which the center was being built, thereby contributing to the development of that area.

He said Brčići was a good location as it was close to the Operational Fire Command in Divulje, the main fire command in the country, and that he was "confident it is another good example of utilizing European Union funds."

Plenković said the new training center for firefighters was an important project for Split-Dalmatia County and all of Croatia was it would raise fire-fighting to a new level.

He said his cabinet had strengthened fire-fighting and that Fire Chief Slavko Tucaković managed an annual budget of HRK 450 million.

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June 21st, 2021 - The European firefighting fleet will consist of 11 firefighting planes, including two from Croatia, and six helicopters, for this year's wildfire season, the European Commission said on Monday.

The rescEU firefighting fleet will consist of two firefighting airplanes from Croatia, two from Greece, two from Italy, two from Spain, and six firefighting helicopters from Sweden. This comes in addition to one firefighting airplane from France and two from Sweden, which is part of the rescEU fleet on a long-term basis.

"Ahead of this year's forest fire season, we must do all that is necessary to reduce the impact of fires. Therefore, our proposed rescEU firefighting fleet will include 11 planes and 6 helicopters and can be readily deployed any time during this forest fire season," said Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič.

The season's risk for forest fires is forecasted to be above average, with temperatures expected to be higher-than-average from June to September in the Mediterranean region, the Commission said. The season might also see less rainfall, especially in central Europe and many areas of the Mediterranean, it added.

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ZAGREB, 6 June, 2021 - Over 1,200 firefighters from Croatia went on pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Marija Bistrica on Sunday, with several high-ranking officials attending this 22nd traditional pilgrimage.

Addressing the pilgrims before the mass, War Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved recalled the huge contribution of firefighters not only to efforts to put out wildfires and fires but also to efforts to deal with the post-quake situations in 2020 and to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

The chief fire commander Slavko Tucaković thanked the government for the procurement of 450 new vehicles for the firefighting system.

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January 26, 2021 – Firefighter Srđan Botica from Slano near Dubrovnik was inconsolable after his hero Petrinja rescue dog Alice was poisoned a few days ago. Although irreplaceable, Srđan's friends could no longer stand by and watch him grieve undeservedly, so they bought a brand new Belgian Shepherd puppy to cheer him up

Srđan Botica was inconsolable after the death of his dog, Alice. Although she was still quite young, Alice and Srđan had built a strong bond between them. The training required for a dog like Alice to become a specialist search and rescue dog will have that kind of effect. The relationship Srđan established with Alice was strengthened both in his workplace, where Srđan is a firefighter and at home, which is where Srđan brought Alice each evening.

The final test of the pair's attachment was to be the rubble left in the aftermath of the Sisak Moslavina earthquake. Srđan volunteered to travel from Dubrovnik to help in the response. Alice became a Petrinja rescue dog, scouring the damaged and fallen buildings for survivors. The inseparable pair stayed for six days undertaking their work.

Srdan and Alice at work after the earthquake

As TCN was saddened to report over recent days, the partnership of Srđan Botic and his Petrinja rescue dog Alice was tragically cut short within weeks of their return. Alice was poisoned on the streets of her home in Slano, near Dubrovnik.

Though Petrinja rescue dog Alice was one of a kind and can never be replaced, the friends of firefighter Srđan Botica could no longer sit by and watch his undeserved grief. Over the last couple of days they clubbed together and bought Srđan a new dog. Srđan's new housemate goes by the name of Amy and she's still just a puppy. Amy is a Belgian Shepherd, the exact same breed as Petrinja rescue dog Alice.

It is probably still too early to say whether Amy will follow in Alice's pawsteps to become a search and rescue dog. But, Belgian Shepherds are one of the best-known breeds for this kind of work. They are used as search and rescue dogs by firefighters and mountain rescue in many countries, and as police and military dogs. They have a good reputation as sniffer dogs, particularly in the field of finding illegal drugs. Several Belgian Shepherds have been decorated for bravery and they are very protective of their owners and handlers.

The US Secret Service, Israel Defence Forces, Indian NSG commando unit and Royal Australian Air Force use Belgian Shepherds in their work. The breed is second in number only to the German Shepherd for use across the whole of the US Armed Forces.