Minister of Emergency Situations reported that last year the number  of fires increased in Armenia

ArmInfo.Significant growth was recorded last year in respect of all types of emergencies, This was announced on February 5 at a press conference on the results of the Ministry of Emergencies in 2019, Minister of Emergency Situations of  Armenia Felix Tsolakyan said.  

He noted that a special growth was  recorded in the field of fires, in particular, in 2019, 10.237 cases  of fires were recorded, while in 2018 their number was 6.500. The  Minister of Emergency Situations of Armenia stated that there were  both small and very large fires, but firefighters were able to cope  with all the difficulties with honor.

"Unfortunately, one of the firefighters died last year, another was  injured. A wounded firefighter was recognized as the best firefighter  of the year. And although the work of a rescuer is inevitably fraught  with risk, it should be noted that the death of one of our  firefighters was a lesson for others, they need avoid unnecessary  risk, "Tsolakyan emphasized. He emphasized that among the fires last  year, many forest fires were recorded. "In this area, we have  numerous problems, including the lack of roads in the forest. As a  rule, the cause of forest fires is the human factor, people set fire  to grass and a fire occurs. 

This year, due to lack of rainfall, fires have already occurred in  Tavush and Lori, "the Minister of Emergency Situations noted,  emphasizing that there are not too many forests in Armenia, and we  must protect them. According to the minister, it is necessary to  carry out preventive work, and it is also very important to build  paths in the forests. "Today the situation is such that a firefighter  has to go through the forest for hours to get to the place of fire,  this is wrong. Roads in the forests contribute to a quick response to  the fire, in addition, I believe that it will be right to divide the  forests into sectors. Another very an important issue is a  helicopter, and we are currently negotiating on this issue with the  Russian side, "Tsolakyan noted. As for fires in cities, the Minister  of Emergency Situations said that a tender had been announced for the  purchase of stairs more than 50 meters high, since the existing  stairs, whose height is 30 meters, did not reach the high-rise  buildings. Tsolayan believes that the cause of the growth of fires is  climate change, as well as the presence of the human factor.