In line with its disaster management vision, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality has made a significant investment in order to increase the firefighting capacity in the city and to continue its daily services more effectively. 134 new vehicles purchased with a total budget of 184 million TL were introduced at the ceremony. In particular, the fire extinguishing tankers to be distributed to villages and the service vehicles to be used in natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods attracted attention. Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor Cemil Tugay stated that what befits Izmir is to develop, thrive and live in peace, and emphasized that Izmir Metropolitan Municipality will continue to work hard in this direction.
Critical Support for Forest Villages: 125 Fire Tankers
Within the scope of the mobilization aimed at extinguishing possible fires before they grow, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality purchased 125 fire tankers for forest villages. In the ceremony hosted by Mayor Cemil Tugay, 40 of these tankers were initially delivered to mukhtars. In addition, 59 new service vehicles provided to the municipality were introduced at the same ceremony. Gaziemir Mayor Ünal Işık, Kemalpaşa Mayor Mehmet Türkmen, Beydağ Mayor Şakir Başaran, fire department personnel, mukhtars and citizens attended the ceremony.
Chairman Tugay: “Rapid Intervention in Villages is of Vital Importance”
Speaking at the ceremony, President Cemil Tugay stated that the fire tankers distributed to the villages played a critical role in firefighting. Noting that tankers were distributed to more than 600 percent of the 90 villages in Izmir, Tugay said, “Both the bitter experiences of the city and the fires we all witnessed last year showed us that having tankers in the villages for effective and rapid intervention is of vital importance. I would like to thank all our citizens who are sensitive about this issue, especially our mukhtars who support and serve these tankers the most.” Emphasizing that they do not expect a tanker to extinguish a large fire on its own, but that rapid intervention in the initial stages of a fire prevents major disasters, President Tugay stated that these tankers ensure that many fires are brought under control before they grow.
Fire Risk Mapped in Izmir, Precautions Are Increased
Recalling the sad fire incidents that occurred in Izmir last year, President Tugay said that around 16 thousand fires were intervened and that around 3 thousand hectares of wooded area was damaged in the fire in Yamanlar alone. Drawing attention to the importance of preventing fires in the early stages, Tugay noted that fire risk assessments were carried out in all areas of Izmir and that precautions were increased in areas where the risk was high. Recalling that training was provided against fire in rural areas, President Tugay emphasized that citizens took responsibility for protecting their own living spaces with the tankers they had and the information they had acquired.
Izmir Fire Department on Duty 7/24
İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department Director Yaşar Korkmaz also stated in his speech at the ceremony that tankers play a vital role in fire response. Korkmaz said, “These vehicles are one of the strongest supporters of our struggle to protect life and property, in which we race against time. They will increase our intervention power, especially in areas far from water resources, and provide earlier and more effective intervention in fires in rural areas. As İzmir Fire Department, we are in the field 30/62 in 7 stations in 24 districts.” Stating that the summer of 2024 was quite difficult for İzmir, Korkmaz said that as İzmir Fire Department, they responded to 36 thousand incidents and 16 thousand of these were fires. He also reminded that 5 thousand hectares of land were damaged in the large fires that occurred last summer.
Exemplary Behavior from Volunteers
Özlem Özcan, a 17-year-old firefighter volunteer living in Tire, said in her speech at the ceremony that she became a volunteer after being affected by the forest fires that occurred last year and that she took the fire tanker given to her village by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and went to the fire zone to participate in the extinguishing efforts.
Firefighting Fleet Grows
With the purchase of 30 fire tankers with an investment of 125 million TL, the number of fire tankers distributed by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality to forest villages will reach 585. Thanks to their trailer-type structures, these tankers, which will provide effective service in narrow and rugged areas, will extinguish fires at the initial stage and prevent their growth until fire trucks arrive. They can also be used for water reinforcement if the fire department needs water. Environmental damage is minimized by using liquid fire extinguishing agents in the tankers with environmentally friendly features. The distribution of the purchased 85 fire tankers is planned to be completed by the end of May.
Strong Infrastructure Against Disasters
The Izmir Metropolitan Municipality also added 104 new service vehicles to its fleet with an investment of 59 million TL. These vehicles include 4 panel vans (repair and maintenance vehicles) purchased to provide service in natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, 30 double-cabin pickup trucks, 23 light commercial vehicles, and 2 sliding body trucks purchased for the rapid and safe transportation of heavy loads and the maintenance and repair of broken vehicles and construction equipment. These investments stand out as an important indicator of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality's determination to create a city resilient to disasters and to provide uninterrupted service to its citizens.
