A helicopter of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina was also involved in extinguishing the fire at the Tjentište site and the Sutjeska National Park today, the Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zukan Helez, confirmed to the media.
According to reports, last night around 22:00 the use of the BiH helicopter was approved, and this morning at 6:50 the helicopter took off and extinguished the fire.
The fire at Tjentište, which threatens the Sutjeska National Park, is extinguished by a helicopter of the Helicopter Service of the Republika Srpska, firefighters from Foča and Gacko, members of the Civil Protection and workers of the Sutjeska National Park.
“The fire in the area of the Sutjeska and Zelengora National Parks has spread, and the helicopter of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republika Srpska is transporting firefighters to a location where they can act from the ground,” said Miloš Jakšić, head of the Civil Protection Department of the Municipality of Foča.
“The helicopter service of the Republika Srpska is also putting out the fire with one helicopter, I think another will arrive during the day,” Jakšić said.
According to him, the fire has spread by 30 to 40 percent since 19:00 last night, although it is being actively extinguished.
“The helicopter takes us to one location and we act from there, and the helicopters put out the higher parts,” explained Jakšić.
He added that firefighters from Ilidža are also participating in the extinguishing.
The President of the Republika Srpska Fire Brigade Association, Goran Stojaković, told Srna that the fire in the area of the National Park “Sutjeska” and Zelengora is being extinguished by firefighters from Foča and members of the Republican Administration of Civil Protection, as well as that a larger number of helicopters would certainly mean a faster and more efficient intervention.
Stojaković said that workers employed in the “Sutjeska” National Park were also involved in extinguishing the fire.
“According to the Law on Fire Protection and the Rulebook on the Protection of Forests and Agricultural Areas, they are the first to put out a fire in the National Park. Only then is the fire department called, which means that the National Park units intended for firefighting are the first to appear,” explained Stojaković.
According to him, if these forces are not sufficient, according to fire regulations, the help of neighboring fire departments is requested.
“We have at our disposal ground forces plus a helicopter of the Helicopter Service of the Republika Srpska,” Stojaković stated, and added that the best assessment is made by colleagues on the ground when it comes to additional assistance.
Stojaković says that the possibility of spreading or cutting the fire is assessed on the ground, and with that information the necessary forces on the ground and in the air are defined.
The director of the Republic Administration of Civil Protection, Boris Trninić, warned yesterday that a century-old conifer forest is burning in the National Park “Sutjeska” in the locality of Tjentišta, and that it is necessary to urgently deploy a fire-fighting helicopter from the Helicopter Unit of the MUP of Serbia to help the Helicopter Service of the Republika Srpska and the people involved on the field.
The fire broke out on Friday, August 9.
The Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Staša Košarac, immediately reacted and asked the other ministers in the Council of Ministers to act urgently and without delay in accordance with their responsibilities and approve the engagement of the Serbian MUP helicopter as soon as possible.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, said that the authorities of Republika Srpska should turn to the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and only after that to the institutions of other countries, while the Minister of Defense, Zukan Helez, said that he would not allow the helicopter of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia to put out the fire at territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Srna writes.
