Bosilovo to install thermal camera system to detect landfill fires in Strumica area

The municipality of Bosilovo will host a new thermal camera system, financed by the European Union through a Cross-Border Cooperation Programme, aimed at early detection of fires at landfills across the Strumica region.

According to the tender documentation, the cameras will be installed on the Bosilovo municipal building and must cover an area with a minimum radius of 15 kilometres. The system is designed to detect smoke and fire at landfills in the municipalities of Strumica, Bosilovo and Vasilevo and to forward alerts to the responsible services so they can respond in the early phase of an incident.

The project also includes participation from the Territorial Firefighting Unit (TFU) Radovish, which will receive the system alerts and coordinate responses in the affected area.

Faster response and pinpointing problem sites

Fire officials say the system should shorten response times and reduce the resources needed to fight landfill fires. "Of course, with such a system we will gain time in our interventions. Usually landfill fires in the region are reported at a later, more developed stage, which requires more vehicles to engage. With information from this system, we will intervene at the outset, and from the information we will also know which non-standard landfill it is," said Aleksandar Kulisic, commander of the Territorial Firefighting Unit (TFU) Radovish, which is also involved in the project.

Local authorities expect that earlier detection will both limit the scale of fires and lower the environmental and health impact caused by extended smouldering and open burning at illegal or poorly managed landfills.

Installation on the municipal building in Bosilovo and the coverage requirement of at least 15 km suggest the system will be able to monitor a broad portion of the Strumica plain, enabling coordinated alerts across municipal boundaries.

Photo: SDK.MK)