24 firefighters, police officers and soldiers were honored today at a special ceremony by Prime Minister Edi Rama, for their efforts with the fires during the summer.
""100 missions from the air, hundreds of interventions and this state was not broken, but showed that the mechanization of Civil Protection from the most remote village to the center of Tirana could and knew how to give the best.", Prime Minister Rama said at the public recognition ceremony.
Our country was engulfed by large fires this summer, affecting even residential areas, which led to the displacement of residents. The situation in August was critical in Delvina and Gramsh, while according to the Ministry of Defense, 10 forces were deployed on the ground.
Damage was recorded to homes, agriculture and livestock, and 56 thousand hectares of land and forests were burned.
Instead of honors, better working conditions
"We couldn't come out of this summer of hell due to the temperatures without any scars, but we have a human capital that will never leave Albania in the lurch again, special gratitude," Prime Minister Rama said at the public recognition ceremony.
However, the fires, in addition to the damage they caused, also offered us a panorama of the situation in which the firefighting forces in the country are working.
Our country has about 1250 firefighters, while according to the law on fire protection and rescue services, there should be 1 firefighter for every 1500-2000 inhabitants.
Bledar Bajrami, head of the firefighters' union in Albania, told Citizens.al that in relation to the population and geographical spread, the needs are not being met.
"We don't fill the number for the city. We also cover the forests. There should be a norm, how many firefighters are needed per kilometer of a forest. Something that has not been defined by anyone", declared Bajrami.
According to a report by the Institute for Municipalities of Albania, the average number of firefighters at the national level is 0.8 firefighters per 1500 inhabitants, while that of firefighting vehicles is 0.9 per 10.000 inhabitants. So, 25% below the level required by law 152/2015. "For service to fire protection and rescue".
According to Bajrami, firefighters work in difficult conditions, without tools and financial support.
"The machinery in most municipalities is very old, dating back to the '90s. The clothing is not really suitable for forests," he said.
He emphasized that they do not have workshops where they can send vehicles for repair and municipalities often do not announce tenders for vehicle maintenance.
"They don't have money to fix the vehicles. The vehicles are being fixed by the director, the chiefs and the firefighters from their own pockets. They have taken money from their own pockets and fixed the vehicles, under the pretext that the tender was not made," Bajrami said.
Low wages and non-payment of night hours
In 2023, Prime Minister Rama declared that there will be a salary increase for firefighters by category with 20 thousand new lek per month.
However, union representatives see an increase that does not justify the work and the conditions in which it is done.
"If you start work today, as an assistant firefighter you will receive 530 thousand old lek. It increases by 50 thousand old lek per rank. Then seniority also comes into play and it goes up to 700 thousand lek for those who have over 20 years of work," Bledar Bajrami told Citizens.al.
Since 2019, firefighters have not even been paid for night shifts. Bajrami and other firefighters have gone to court over this.
"There are 5 court decisions for night hours that firefighters do not receive. Since 2019, we have not received payment for night hours. The payment is 100 thousand lek (old). When the salaries were 390 thousand lek, 30% of the salary was deducted. We have been denied 30% of the salary for many years, until the salary was increased last year," Bajrami argues.
Meanwhile, in various municipalities, firefighters are not even paid for overtime, stating that they will be able to take vacations during the winter.
"I have Korça, they don't take overtime. They told you you'd take vacations during the winter. Now, you don't have the number of firefighters to provide service, to give permission and not to give permission plus to replace services," says Bledar Bajrami, adding that you cannot leave the service with two employees.
The need for an air fleet
Supported by the European Mechanism, Albania received assistance this summer through special “Canadair” firefighting aircraft, and “Black Hawk” aircraft that came from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the United Arab Emirates, Croatia and Greece. Meanwhile, Albania itself does not have a dedicated fleet of firefighting aircraft, apart from repeated promises and commitments to create one.
"Aircraft are a powerful arm in battle and we will soon have our fleet of aircraft that will begin to be built with 2 firefighting aircraft, but the magic is coordination and sacrifice on the ground," Prime Minister Rama said today.
Bajrami points out that in addition to the preparation of firefighters, without aerial assistance they cannot isolate the fires in forest areas.
"If the fire spreads 20 meters, what do you do? You need a plane. The air fleet passes, puts out the fires, the firefighters come in and isolate the fires so they don't spread again, and an isolation is done."
According to him, the country needs helicopters, not planes.
"I only use the plane for two months in the summer and I'll keep it in the barn for nine months. The helicopter is part of the fire service and I use it 12 months a year, for putting out fires, for evacuations, for floods, for ravines where tourists fall," Bajrami said.
The spread of fires and the inability to isolate them more quickly, according to Bajrami, also comes from the inefficient forest service.
"Safety belts are not created. Roads are not kept clean. Those roads that are should be maintained and repaired so that firefighters can pass through," Bajrami concluded while emphasizing the need for municipalities to invest in the fire service.
Also Read:
Erisa Kryeziu has completed higher studies in Journalism and Communication and Master of Science in Public Relations at the University of Tirana. She has been a journalist and project manager at Citizens.al for five years, where she reports on social issues and human rights, especially on issues of rights at work, in education, gender equality, marginalized groups, people with disabilities such as and for environmental issues. At the same time, she works as a project coordinator with a focus on youth and media education. User of new reporting techniques such as "Mobile Journalism" and citizen engagement tools in reporting (ECR-Engage Citizens Journalism).
