Latvian Firefighting Association: fire safety - the ability to get along with fire

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About 10,000 fires are registered in the country every year, more than half of which are the result of careless actions with fire. Informing and educating the public is one of the priorities of the policy and strategy of the State Fire and Rescue Service for the next three years, because it is the knowledge of people and their ability to act in a crisis situation that can save you from harm. The Fire Fighting Conference, jointly organized by the Latvian Fire Fighting Association, FN Serviss and Gjensidige Latvija in mid-December, brought together leading Latvian and European experts in the field of fire fighting and community training to share best practices in Latvia and abroad and to provide recommendations on preventive fire fighting. measures.

“Fire safety is the ability to get along with fire, because fire was, is and will be. Our life is built around how we know how to get along with fire, use it for our needs. I respect the power of fire. Often fire is a symbol of something powerful and not always negative, ”said Ilgvar Ceris, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Fire Fighting Association.

I. Ceris urged to pay attention to how to adapt to this power of fire, how safe we ​​live in, what are the requirements established by the state and whether we fulfill them, whether we are aware of the level of our knowledge and are we able to ensure fire safety in our family, home , at work.

General Kristaps Eklons, Deputy Head of the State Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), presented statistical data and introduced the preventive measures against fires carried out by the SFRS. He said that the number of fires has decreased in the past three years, but that the number of dry grass fires accounts for almost a third of the total number of fires in the country. “Burning dry grass indicates, firstly, the attitude to one's property, but it is also an indicator of the country's economic well-being. When every farmer has access to a mower and gasoline for it, there will be fewer or no fires from last year's grass, ”says K. Eklons.

He said that every year the SPSU conducts an average of 6,000 preventive measures, training approximately 100,000 people. In 2017, over 11 months, more than 10,000 preventive measures were carried out, at which more than 128 thousand people were trained.

The main thing is the attitude of society towards fire safety, and until it changes, there will be no real improvements in fire statistics. The need for training workers in enterprises, as well as streamlining the work environment, so that people receive information and know how to act in the event of a fire, was emphasized. The speakers reminded that fire safety should be taken care of continuously and systematically.

“If the workers know how to act, and the rescue service is familiar with the specifics of a particular facility, in the event of a fire, you can act promptly. It is important that the source of the fire is detected as quickly as possible, the fire extinguishing equipment is easily accessible and people know how to handle it, ”said risk engineer Gjensidige Latvija, expert Juris Purins. Effective preventive measures can often help reduce the scale of a disaster or prevent it entirely.

The conference on firefighting was attended by 210 participants, who admitted that the event was very useful for them as professionals, as it allowed them to get a deeper understanding of the situation with firefighting in the country, with examples of the best practices of leading Latvian and European experts in reducing the risks of fires at enterprises and in households.

The organizers of the conference - the Latvian Fire Fighting Association, FN Serviss and Gjensidige Latvija - were unanimous that the started tradition should be continued, and conceptually have already agreed to hold the next conference on fire fighting in October 2018. The conference organizers will inform about the topical issues of this year and the agenda in the coming months. The most important goal of the conference organizers is to contribute to a safe environment in business and households, to reduce, if possible, the risk of fires.

The Latvian Fire Fighting Association is a professional public organization in Latvia, the purpose of which is to promote commercial activities, mutual understanding and professional development of its members, to protect and represent the legal, economic and economic interests of its members and the entire industry in state and municipal authorities.

Additional Information:

Ilgvar Ceris, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Fire Fighting Association

29414689, lua@ugunsdzesiba.lv, www.ugunsdzesiba.lv