Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Kliuyev has instructed the central and regional authorities to strengthen fire prevention measures in the country, reads a statement posted on the official Web site of the Cabinet of Ministers on Thursday.
Kliuyev sent a government telegram to the heads of the Emergencies Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the Environment Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, the Health Ministry, the Transport and Communications Ministry, the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Committee, the State Forestry Committee, the State Border Service, the State Department for the Execution of Punishment, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Crimean Council of Ministers, regional state administrations, as well as the Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administration, ordering them to strengthen fire prevention measures during the heatwave.
The order foresees around-the-clock monitoring of forests, the intensification of work on the prevention and extinguishing of forest and peat fires, checks on the state of fire safety by fire prevention agencies, the readiness of medical institutions to provide assistance to the victims of wildfires, the specification of plans for responses to emergency situations, and the observance of fire safety rules by forest users, regardless of what department they are subordinated to.
It is also planned to form stocks of fuel and lubricants and other resources needed to implement these measures, check the state of the readiness of evacuation points for the possible evacuation of the public from affected areas, and provide these points with drinking water and medicines.
The telegram also includes a ban on the entry of vehicles to forests and the prevention of parking near forests. The document also foresees increased controls by law enforcement agencies, along with the General Prosecutor’s Office, on the observance of fire safety requirements, as well as tighter controls by traffic police officers over road users to ensure the observance of fire safety regulations.
