On seasonal fires of dry grass

     This year, spring arrived unexpectedly early, causing seasonal dry grass fires to begin in the republic a month ahead of schedule. According to statistics, in 2019, there were 2,691 fires in ecosystems, covering a total area of 11,333 hectares. Rescuers extinguished 520 forest fires and 243 peat bog fires. A total of 1,928 instances of grass and shrub fires were recorded. Despite these statistics, citizens' desire to get rid of garbage and last year's grass with a lit match does not disappear. The first cases of dry vegetation fires were recorded as early as mid-February – warm weather contributed to tidying up household plots. The majority of such fires are the result of human carelessness when handling fire. Their own negligence and disregard for basic safety rules have played a cruel trick on people more than once, as evidenced by numerous examples from operational reports:

On February 17 of this year, an emergency occurred in a village near Dyatlovo. A 32-year-old man was tidying up his household plot, burning garbage. At some point, he stumbled and fell into the fire. The victim, with burns covering 30% of his body, was hospitalized.

On March 23 of last year, a fire occurred in the Ostrovetsky district. The owners were burning garbage, and the flames spread from the household plot to the residential house. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Tidying up ended in a fire in one of the villages in the Smorgon district. A local resident was burning garbage on a bonfire. Feeling unwell, he went into the house to take medicine, and when he returned, the flames had spread through the grass to the neighbor's yard, located fifty meters from the bonfire. The pensioner tried to stop the fire, but in vain. In seconds, the flames engulfed the shed and the roof of the house…

As we can see, the problem of burning household waste is relevant year after year and occupies a special place among the causes of fires.

fires. However, the desire to restore order sometimes leads to the most severe consequences:

On April 25, 2019, a man with numerous burns was hospitalized in the district hospital. The emergency occurred in one of the dacha cooperatives of the Minsk district. Dry grass caught fire from a bonfire in which the pensioner was burning garbage. While trying to fight the flames on his own, his sister died.

It should be noted that grass fires spread quickly, especially on windy days. The fire flares up instantly, and it is very difficult to contain and stop it. Dry grass fires can lead to the ignition of dacha buildings and wooden houses. Last year's grass dries quickly in the strong spring sun and easily ignites from any thrown match or cigarette:

4 non-residential houses, 2 dachas, and 11 outbuildings were damaged as a result of a grass fire in one of the villages of the Smorgon district last April. Clouds of smoke were visible to residents of the neighboring village several kilometers away. A strong wind instantly spread the fire through the dry vegetation, and the flames engulfed the outbuildings and houses. 15 fire crews participated in extinguishing the fire. It took several hours to extinguish the blaze. An unextinguished cigarette butt thrown into the dry grass in the yard of one of the villagers led to such a large-scale fire.

Last year in the Grodno region, the first case of dry grass fire was recorded on February 24. Dry grass caught fire in the Dyatlovsky district over an area of about 0.7 hectares. The flames raged in a drainage channel between two settlements. The cause of the ignition turned out to be a thrown, unextinguished cigarette. Units of the Dyatlovsky and Slonimsky district emergency departments were involved in extinguishing the fire.

In one of the villages of the Ostrovetsky district last year, 4 outbuildings and a house burned down due to a grass fire. Neighbors heard crackling. Going outside, they saw a burning house. The flames quickly spread to

outbuildings. The gusts of wind spread it for tens of meters. The entire small village was under threat. Tenremnants in fields or failure to take measures to extinguish fires, responsible persons shall be subject to administrative penalties in the form of a fine ranging from 10 to 40 base units. Article 15.58 – for setting fires in prohibited areas, a warning or a fine of up to 12 base units shall be imposed. In case of causing damage of a particularly large scale, criminal liability shall arise (Art. 270, 276 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

As we can see, the perpetrators of almost all fires are the residents themselves. However, even material punishment does not stop them:

On March 29, 2019, a resident of one of the villages in Chausky district removed ashes from the stove and threw them out near the house, without maintaining a safe distance of 15 meters from the building. She also forgot to douse them with water. As a result of wind gusts, dry vegetation caught fire on the territory of the afforestation. The citizen was brought to administrative responsibility.

On April 4, in one of the villages ofrural council;

On March 22, 2020, near the village of Zadorozhye of the Sorzhitsky rural council

The total area of the burned plots is more than 2 hectares.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus reminds you to be careful when tidying up the territory of private houses and dachas:

- remove garbage to a designated place;

- if burning is unavoidable, choose a site in such a way as to exclude fire, the distance to buildings and structures should be at least 10 m, from the forest – 20 meters, 30 meters from places where hay or straw is stored. Waste can only be burned in calm weather, the flame must be constantly controlled, and under no circumstances should it be left unattended;

- do not forget about a fire extinguisher, a container of water, a shovel;

- burning dry vegetation, post-harvest residues, and standing grass is strictly prohibited.

Another spring "problem" is lovers of outdoor recreation. Going for "shashlik", people choose picturesque places. But when they leave, they leave mountains of garbage, broken glass, plastic bottles. They forget to extinguish the fire and throw cigarette butts into the grass. But a gust of wind can spread the fire over long distances, burning everything in its path.

To ensure that outdoor recreation is truly safe:

- carefully consider all safety measures when spending leisure time and ensure their strict observance by both adults and children;

- install a brazier or grill at least 4 meters away from the house. When lighting, under no circumstances should flammable liquids be used;

- do not leave unextinguished fires, matches, cigarette butts, glass bottles (in the sun they act as magnifying glasses) in recreation areas;

focus sunlight and ignite grass, moss, etc.);

- do not pass by burning grass; if you cannot extinguish the fire on your own, report fires to the MES duty service by phone "101, 112".

Be careful with fire! Your safety depends on you.