Spring-summer fire hazard period

April 5, 2021

With the onset of spring, the fire hazard period begins. Year after year, the same scenario repeats: as soon as dry spring weather sets in, people begin to tidy up their household plots, burning garbage and last year's grass. According to statistics, in 2020, 3,729 cases of grass and shrub fires were recorded over an area of 3,438 hectares. Rescuers extinguished 1,074 forest fires (6,543 hectares) and 225 peat fires (88 hectares). Dry vegetation is disposed of by fire without considering the consequences. Pensioners often become victims of grass fires, as evidenced by numerous examples from operational reports:

March 29, 2020: in the Korelichi district, a man was burning dry vegetation behind his homestead. When the flames began to threaten the buildings, he started to extinguish them himself. As a result, the pensioner's clothes caught fire. A neighbor called rescuers. The victim received burns on 30% of his body.

May 15, 2020: due to careless handling of fire while burning garbage, a fire occurred in the village of Losk, Volozhin district. The man was tidying up the house and decided to burn unnecessary items. He chose a spot five meters away from the house and utility building. A spark that flew out of the fire caused the ignition. The pensioner called rescuers in time – only the utility building was damaged.

The problem of burning garbage and last year's grass occupies a separate place among the causes of fires. However, the desire to tidy up sometimes leads to the most severe consequences – loss of life. Thus, last year, while burning garbage in the village of Starye Pashkovo, Mogilev district, a pensioner born in 1950 died, and in the village of Golovchitsy, Narovlya district, rescuers found the charred body of a pensioner born in 1935 while extinguishing a grass fire.

It should be noted that grass fires spread quickly, especially on windy days. Fire

it flares up instantly, it is very difficult to contain and stop. Dry grass fires can lead to fires of dachas and wooden houses. Last year's grass dries quickly in the strong spring sun and easily ignites from any thrown match or cigarette:

April 7, 2020: while fishing in the Kamenets district, a man lit a cigarette and threw an unextinguished match into the grass. Within seconds, flames ignited near him. The man began to extinguish the fire with improvised means, resulting in thermal burns.

March 18, 2020: 20 hectares of grass burned down in the Glussk district. A worker of OJSC "Zarya Kommuny" was watching cattle in the field. The woman lit a cigarette and threw an unextinguished butt on the ground. The dry grass instantly flared up. The distance from the ignition site to the settlement was only 300 meters. Rescuers immediately rushed to the scene and began extinguishing. There was a strong wind that day, and only because its direction was away from the village, the nearby houses and buildings were not damaged.

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 wind, the fire spreads very quickly – at a speed of 25-30 kilometers per hour. It is very difficult to localize and extinguish such a fire:

March 16, 2020: late in the evening, rescuers received a report of a fire near the village of Yatra. 4 units were dispatched to extinguish the fire, and there was a threat of a forest fire. The fire occurred due to the fault of fishermen who left an unextinguished campfire near the lake. Fortunately, rescuers managed to cope with the fire.

In Belarus, burning dry vegetation is prohibited by law. According to Article 16.40 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, for illegal burning of dry vegetation, grass in its natural state, as well as stubble and post-harvest residues in fields, or failure to take measures to extinguish fires, guilty persons are brought to administrative responsibility in the form of a fine from 10 to 30 basic units. Article 16.41 – for lighting fires in prohibited places a fine of up to 12 basic units is imposed. In case of causing damage of a particularly large size, criminal liability arises. However, many are not stopped even by material punishment:

March 30, 2020: A man, driven by his own beliefs about the need to clear a land plot, set fire to dry grass in the floodplain of the Lesnaya River in Kamenets. He was brought to administrative responsibility for burning dry vegetation in the form of a fine of 10 basic units.

March 17, 2020: A resident of Budcha village, Gantsevichi district, was burning garbage on his household plot, which resulted in dry grass catching fire. For the violation of fire safety requirements, he was brought to administrative responsibility in the form of a fine of 5 basic units.

This year was no exception. The first case of seasonal fires was recorded on March 7 in the Smolevichi district near the Plisa River. Someone, either carelessly or intentionally, set fire to last year's grass. Subsequently, the MES reports were supplemented with similar cases:

March 15, 2021: A resident of Gantsevichi district was cleaning her plot, burning dry grass on the territory adjacent to the house. Due to intense burning and weather conditions, there was a threat of fire to a neighboring house. Rescuers came to the rescue.

March 24, 2021: Due to careless handling of fire, dry vegetation was destroyed over an area of 20 sq. m. along a reclamation canal in Brest. A concerned woman called the MES to report that her father had received burns while making unsuccessful attempts to extinguish the burning grass. The pensioner was hospitalized. The fire was extinguished by rescuers.

Rules for tidying up the territory of private houses and dachas:

- Bonfires are allowed on a cleared and dug-around area in calm weather at a distance of at least 8 meters from buildings (structures);

- A container with water, sand, or a fire extinguisher must be readily available to quickly extinguish the flames;

- Do not leave a bonfire unattended;

- When leaving, extinguish the embers until smoldering completely ceases;

- Burning dry vegetation, crop residues, and standing grass is strictly prohibited!

Another spring "problem" is nature recreation enthusiasts. When going for barbecues, people choose picturesque places. But when leaving, they forget to extinguish the bonfire, leave broken glass, and throw cigarette butts into the grass. However, a gust of wind can spread fire over long distances, burning everything in its path.

To ensure that outdoor recreation is truly safe:

- Install the brazier or grill on

at a distance of at least 2 meters from buildings (structures);

- do not use flammable liquids when lighting fires;

- do not leave unextinguished bonfires, matches, cigarette butts, glass bottles in recreation areas (in the sun, they act like magnifying glasses, focusing sunlight and igniting grass);

- do not pass by burning grass; if it is impossible to extinguish the fire on your own, report fires to the Ministry of Emergency Situations by calling "101 or 112".