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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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, 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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February 27, 2021 – With five new vehicles, the Porec area is ready for the firefighting season, and is implementing the strategic EU project STREAM of climate change adaptation.

Under the chairmanship of Chief of Staff Denis Matošević, the City of Poreč-Parenzo and the Civil Protection Headquarters of Poreč held a meeting for preparing the fire season in the Porec area. Poreč Mayor Loris Peršurić also greeted those present and participated in the working part of the meeting.

As the regional fire commander too, Denis Matošević informed everyone present about last year's season, together with the Head of the Protection and Rescue Service of the Istria County Fire Brigade, Denis Stipanov. They adopted the work plan, financial plan, and operational implementation plan for the fire season.

They also discussed sites and areas for establishing appropriate command posts for fire fighting coordination. They also agreed that the Headquarters will be involved in cases when it is necessary to declare a major accident or catastrophe.

As Mayor Matošević mentioned, Poreč is ready for the fire-fighting season, and this year, they expect the delivery of as many as five new vehicles. With one larger forest extinguishing vehicle coming from the state budget, four new vehicles are under construction and their delivery is expected throughout the year. Additionally, in cooperation with the City of Poreč-Parenzo, they are implementing the strategic EU project STREAM of climate change adaptation.

"For us, this is an important and significant project that will provide us with valuable equipment worth 700,000 kunas. This will enable us to be one of the first fire brigades in Croatia that will be equipped to act in flood crisis situations," said Matošević.

At the end of the meeting, they concluded that the preparations for the fire season 2021 in the Poreč were made in a timely manner.

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Saturday, 5 September 2020 – More than 100 policemen were searching for the escaped man, but in the end it was a firefighters Malinois Belgian Shepherd that sniffed him out.

When detainee Branimir Čaleta managed to escape from custody on September 2, armed police were immediately on his tail. They knew where to look – he was seen running in the direction of Turska kula and the Park Mladosti in Split, near the Poljud football stadium.

But, though more than 100 officers were searching for the wanted man, in the end, it was a firefighters Malinois Belgian Shepherd called Flip that sniffed him out.


The Malinois Belgian Shepherd is used by armed services, the police and for search and rescue all over the world © TC Perch

Details of Flip's assistance were revealed in an interview undertaken with the dog's handler, Split firefighter Joško Čule by the 24 sata news outlet. Although he was not allowed to reveal details of the fugitive's capture, Joško did speak about his dog.

Flip is a search dog of the Public Fire Brigade of the City of Split, a firefighters Malinois Belgian Shepherd. He was trained to search in all environments, from urban areas and ruins to wild nature, and in all weather conditions. He is a family dog, loves spending time with children, and with the firefighters. He is an active member of the firefighting team in Split and works every day. Flip is taken into the field when necessary and has so far participated in four searches for lost people. He found them all.

This firefighters Malinois Belgian Shepherd is just one of the types of Belgian Shepherd. The other three are called Groenendael, Laekenois, and Tervuren. In Belgium, their country of origin, all four types are considered to be varieties of a single breed, differentiated by hair color and texture. Elsewhere, they are sometimes considered separate breeds.

Flip, the firefighters Malinois Belgian Shepherd is typical in having tan to brown short hair with patches of black. Belgian Shepherd Dogs are highly intelligent, alert, and sensitive to everything going on around them, and they form very strong relationship bonds. They are loyal, intelligent, fun, make good family pets and are very receptive to being trained, thus explaining the position of this firefighters Malinois Belgian Shepherd.


A Belgian Shepherd with a close relative, a Dutch Shepherd © Marius Zopole 

It is not only firefighters who use these dogs. They are used as search and rescue dogs by other services and as police and military dogs. They have a good reputation as sniffer dogs, particularly in the field of finding illegal drugs. Several Malinois Belgian Shepherds have been decorated for bravery. They are very protective of their owners and handlers.

The US Secret Service, Israel Defense Forces, Indian NSG commando unit and Royal Australian Air Force use Malinois 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.

The fugitive Branimir Čaleta ran away from police while he was at court in Split, where he was appearing charged with the murder of his one-time girlfriend, a Ukrainian national. Čaleta is now back in custody, thanks to Flip, the firefighters Malinois Belgian Shepherd.

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A touch of Croatia in a far away land.

Supetar is learning from the disasters of last year and pouring more funding into fire safety.

A potentially damaging blaze in Konavle is tackled.

The wildfire along the Croatian-Montenegrin border close to the border crossing at Debeli Brijeg is still burning.