Recently, more and more frequent fires raise the question of how protected and prepared we are in general, but also aware of how just one small mistake can cause catastrophic consequences. Often due to carelessness, human lives are lost, and then, unfortunately, there is no way back.
Quadrant Market, 2 months ago. All the stands burned down, the damage is huge, but no victims. Fire in Mokro near Pale, two deaths. Tragic explosion in Binježevo, a young man died. Fire at the Heco market, no victims or injuries, but the damage is enormous.
The causes of these four fires are public are not yet fully known, but the profession is of the clear opinion that often the negligence of the authorities who control natural gas installations plays one of the main roles.
DŽENAN BRKANIĆ, Director of Civil Protection KS
“We have a huge problem with improvisation. We don’t use certified boilers. We don’t regularly clean the chimney if we heat with solid fuels. We don’t regularly service the stove, that is, energy sources. We often use heaters that are not adequate, that are not certified”.
Brkanić adds that there are many factors that people do not respect. Among them is the control of electrical installations as one of the primary controls if we want to protect ourselves from a possible fire. But in winter, according to the department commander of the Pale Fire Department, Goran Božić, fires are inevitable.
GORAN BOŽIĆ, VJ Pale department commander
“When there are many fireplaces with different types of fuel in use, when the consumption of electricity is increased, when these decorative lights are in use during the holidays, when pyrotechnics are used, around the time of the holidays. In winter, the possibility of fire outbreaks is especially increased, due to the increase in the use of fire pits”.
Although even two months after the fire at the Quadrant market, we do not have clearly defined causes, unofficial reports indicate that human negligence once again played a major role. This is what the Quadrant market looks like today. New containers arrived, and the damage was repaired by the Municipality of Novi Grad, the City of Sarajevo and the Government of this Canton. But the market did not start working. The Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office states that the investigation has not yet been completed.
The Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Sarajevo has not yet received the report of the fire protection expert in the aforementioned case, so the Prosecutor’s Office cannot at this time state the cause of the fire. At the same time, other actions are being taken in the case in order to determine all the circumstances of the event.
The firefighters in Sarajevo have been pointing out for years that their problem is illegal parking in front of residential buildings, as well as the lack of fire-fighting equipment in buildings. They advise citizens to be more careful, to check everything in time, because just one moment is enough for everything to disappear in the fiery element.
