Serta mountain most critical for Shtip firefighters

Firefighters from Shtip spent the summer battling blazes in forested areas and protecting homes and weekend houses; a new heat wave has raised the threat of further fires. According to the commander of the Shtip fire unit, Blagoj Rendzhov, mountain zones remain the most dangerous because vehicle and on-foot access is often impossible, rocky and steep. He identified Serta as the single most critical area for his crews.

Непристапен терен и ограничен број стручен кадар

“Critical spots are the area toward the Municipality of Karbinci, Plackovica mountain, on the other side Trogerci, where we border the Municipality of Sveti Nikole, then follows Serta with the villages Lakavica, Leskovica, Selce, Puhche. Here we have critical villages, inaccessible terrain, with a lot of fallen mass, which complicates extinguishing the fires,” says Blagoj Rendzhov, commander of TPPE Shtip.

Rendzhov says the department’s vehicle fleet is solid and technically well equipped, but they are short of personnel. The shortfall has been partly covered by assistance from the Directorate for Protection and Rescue (DZS).

“DZS from the start of the season has provided vehicles to the intervention fire service. We have four PINC vehicles, two BTRs, and DZS personnel are here on duty nonstop, here 24 hours, and they really help us in fighting the fires,” Rendzhov added.

According to the Crisis Management Centre, from 1 June to 31 August this year 1,696 fires were recorded across the territory of North Macedonia, of which 69 were forest fires; the remainder were fires of dry grass, stubble and landfills. The largest damage to forests from fires occurred in 2022.

Local crews say the combination of inaccessible slopes, fallen timber and continuing hot, dry weather keeps the risk high into the rest of the season and keeps Serta at the top of their concerns.

Photo: press material from the event