The fire department in Shkodra is going through a situation that is concerning, out of the 100 workers that the institution needs to have, particularly important during the hot summer season, it only has 34.
The reality makes for a problematic situation when it comes to the imminent threat of wildfires in the area, as temperatures soar.
The chief of the Shkodra fire department said that there are 7 firefighters per shift, while at the control room has 24 employees.
Another issue raised by the chief of the fire department is the low salary on the back of long working hours.
“They work a lot, are underpaid, and the law at the moment is not even allowing us to pay them”, said Agron Dibra.
The Prefect of Shkodra, Majlinda Angoni, said that mechanisms facilitating cooperation between municipalities in order to overcome any emergency that might arise are in place since 2019.
“We’re in a situation where temperatures are very high, which means, the risks are high. Thanks to our cooperation, the situation is being managed well”, said Angoni.
However, Agoni notes that people are to be blamed for the majority of the cases and appealed for increased prudence.
“In 90% of the cases it’s due to human error, but those people need to be held legally responsible in order to increase awareness”, said the chief of the firefighter’s department.
As temperatures rise with the arrival of the sizzling hot summer season, the spread of fires has become a common phenomenon seen across the country, while the burden to extinguish the flames falls solely on the country’s firefighters.
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