Spring came unexpectedly early this year, which led to the start of seasonal dry grass fires in the republic a month earlier. According to statistics, in 2019, 2,691 fires occurred in ecosystems, covering a total area of 11,333 hectares. Rescuers extinguished 520 forest fires.
Despite these statistics, citizens still have the desire to get rid of garbage and last year's grass using a lit match. The first cases of dry vegetation fires were recorded back in mid-February – warm weather contributed to tidying up household plots. Most of these fires are the result of human carelessness when handling fire. People's own negligence and disregard for basic safety rules have played a cruel trick on them more than once, as evidenced by numerous examples from operational reports:
On February 17 of this year, an emergency occurred in one of the villages 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 on 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 from the household plot spread to the residential building. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Tidying up ended in a fire in one of the villages of 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 from year to year and occupies a special place among the causes of fires. However, the desire to tidy up sometimes leads to the most severe consequences:
On April 25, 2019, a man was hospitalized in the district hospital with multiple burns. The emergency occurred in one of the dacha communities in the Minsk district. From the bonfire,in which a pensioner was burning garbage, dry grass also caught fire. Trying to cope with 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, it is very difficult to contain and stop. Dry grass fires can lead to the ignition of summer cottages 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 in April last year. Puffs 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 burning was recorded on February 24. Dry grass caught fire in the Dyatlovo district over an area of about 0.7 hectares. The flames raged in a drainage channel between two settlements. The cause of the ignition was a discarded, unextinguished cigarette. Units of the Dyatlovo and Slonim district emergency departments were involved in extinguishing the fire.
In one of the villages of the Ostrovets district last year, 4 outbuildings and a house burned down due to a grass fire. Neighbors heard crackling. Coming outside, they saw a burning house. The flames quickly spread to the outbuildings. Gusts of wind fanned them for tens of meters. The entire small village was under threat. Ten units of equipment and more than fifty people were involved in extinguishing the fire. About 15 hectares of dry vegetation burned out.
Unfortunately, there are cases when not only adults but also children suffer from careless handling of fire. Of course, the responsibility for this primarily lies with parents who do not pay enough attention to safety issues:
On August 26 last year, an emergency occurred in the Bragin district. A 13-year-old teenager and his mother were tidying up their personal plot, burning garbage. The child threw a plastic bottle with gasoline residue into the fire. A flash occurred without subsequent burning, as a result of which the boy received burns and was hospitalized in the surgical department.
But it is not only summer residents and owners of personal plots who burn garbage; unfortunately, this practice is also used in roadside areas – streams of white smoke stretch along fields, meadows, and roadsides. The trail of smoke from ignited grass or straw left in the field can spread for many kilometers. By setting fire to dry last year's grass along roads, at forest edges, in fields and meadows, many may not suspect that a forest fire can start, which leads to irreparable consequences. In gusty winds, fire spreads very quickly – at a speed of 25-30 kilometers per hour. It is very difficult to localize and extinguish such a fire. This year, on February 28, the first case of a forest fire was recorded on the territory of the Petrikov district, its area was 1 hectare.
In Belarus, burning dry vegetation is prohibited by law. According to Article 15.57 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, for burning dry vegetation, grass in the root, as well as stubble and post-harvest residues in fields, or failure to take measures to eliminate fires, guilty persons are brought to administrative responsibility in the form of a fine ranging from 10 to 40 base units. Article 15.58 – for lighting fires in prohibited
places, a warning or a fine of up to 12 basic units is provided. In case of causing damage in a particularly large amount, criminal liability arises (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 the Chausy district removed ash from the stove and threw it outside near the house, without observing the safe distance of 15 meters to the building. She also forgot to douse it with water. As a result of wind gusts, dry vegetation caught fire on the territory of the forest plantation. The citizen was brought to administrative responsibility.
On April 4, in one of the villages of the Braslav district, as a result of violations of fire safety rules when lighting a bonfire, a household building and a residential house on a neighboring land plot caught fire. A day later, in the Dubrovno district, burning dry vegetation led to a fire of two neighboring residential houses at once. In both cases, the guilty persons were identified and brought to administrative responsibility.
On April 5 of last year, a fire occurred in the Shklovsky district. A man set fire to dry grass along the railway tracks. For this offense, the citizen was brought to administrative responsibility in the amount of 10 basic units.
In the Beshenkovichi district, since the beginning of the year, 3 large-scale fires of dry vegetation have already occurred:
March 16, 2020 near the village of Rubesh, Verkhnekrivinsky rural council;
March 20, 2020 near the village of Zabelie, Sorzhitsky rural council;
March 22, 2020 near the village of Zadorozhie, Sorzhitsky rural council
The total area
the burned areas exceeds 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 area;
- if burning is unavoidable, choose a site in such a way as to prevent fire, the distance to buildings and structures should be at least 10 m, from forest areas – 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, crop residues, and standing grass is strictly prohibited.
Another spring "problem" is lovers of outdoor recreation. Going for "shashlik", people choose picturesque places. But, leaving, people 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 recreating and ensure their strict adherence by both adults and children;
- install the grill or barbecue 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 like magnifying glasses, focusing sunlight and igniting grass, moss, etc.) in recreation areas;
- do not pass by burning grass, if it is impossible to extinguish the fire
by yourselves, report fires to the duty service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations by phone "101, 112".Be careful with fire! Your safety depends on you.