More than 200 people die every year in Romania due to fires

More than 200 people die every year in Romania because of fires, the firefighters’ intervention being quite difficult considering that more than half of the fire extinguishing equipment is more than 20 years old. The information appears in the consolidation and development strategy of the General Inspectorate for the Emergency Situations (IGSU) for the 2016-2020 period. The plan, currently under public debate, aims to “increase the operational and response capacity, reduce the impact of the emergency situations in the communities, and improve the quality of the missions,” reports local Mediafax. Between 2008 and 2015, the number of fires in Romania increased from 15,500 per year to almost 26,250, according to the document. The data are also alarming when it comes to the number of victims. The IGSU analysis shows that 200 people lose their lives due to fire every year, and 400-600 are injured. The main causes of fires are the use of improvised or broken electrical devices (some 26%), the use of open fire without respecting the rules (15%), failure to check and maintain chimneys (24%), and deliberate acts (10%). The most severe problem the IGSU is currently facing is the old intervention equipment. The data shows that 56% of the equipment “has a length of service of more than 20 years.” In this context, the institution’s weaknesses are “the low number of means of intervention, the lack of risk assessment at the national level, insufficient specialized personnel, and poorly implemented procedures.” The money for IGSU’s development will come from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, European funds, foreign loans guaranteed by the Government or donations and sponsorships. The budgetary impact for the first two years, 2016-2018 is estimated at some EUR 103 million. Romania was shaken by a great tragedy last October when a fire at the Colectiv club in Bucharest killed a total of 64 people. Since then, the local authorities have been trying to improve the safety regulations in the country. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com