“Turned out not ready”: will Kiev be able to create an effective fire extinguishing system in the Chernobyl exclusion zone

The fire in the Chernobyl exclusion zone has been extinguished, said the acting head of the State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine Yegor Firsov.

“In short, the fire was put out, the rain helped a lot. The background radiation level is constantly measured, but the data that we have is generally normal, ”the official wrote on Facebook.

Recall that a large forest fire began in the Chernobyl zone on April 4. According to the Ukrainian investigative authorities, its cause was arson. The flame quickly spread to the territory of forestries located in the Chernobyl radiation-ecological biosphere reserve. As previously reported by the media in the State Service for Emergencies, on April 14, no open fire was already observed in the exclusion and compulsory resettlement zone, but smoldering forest litter was noted.

Previously, 110 mineralized fire strips were created to extinguish the fire, 500 people and 110 pieces of equipment, including three aircraft and three helicopters, took part in the elimination of the fire.

At the same time, the radiation background in Kiev and the Kiev region remained within the range of natural values, the Ukrainian department said.

Also earlier in the State Emergencies Service of Ukraine it was reported that the level of gamma radiation did not increase in the Chernobyl zone.

At the same time, the head of the State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine, Yegor Firsov, reported that in the center of the fire the radiation level was 2.3 with a norm of 0.14. In total, on April 5, the fire covered over 100 hectares, of which 20 hectares fell on the radiation exclusion zone.

In turn, the deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko said earlier that the fire does not threaten nuclear waste storage facilities.

Authorities announced that the fires were caused by local residents. In particular, on March 13, the National Police of Ukraine reported that another source of ignition arose due to the fault of a 37-year-old local resident who threw the remains of smoldering garbage into dry grass, which led to the burning of dead wood. However, the man did not call the police or rescuers, but tried to put out the fire on his own, but his efforts were unsuccessful.

Dangerous proximity

The situation with the fire in the Chernobyl exclusion zone alarmed foreign observers. The danger of fire in these territories was noted in the Australian publication Science alert. The material published on his website expresses concern that fire might release radioactive elements that have accumulated in wood and soil.

• Sarcophagus over damaged Chernobyl reactor
• Reuters
• © Gleb Garanich

At the same time, the former journalist, the head of the association of Chernobyl tour operators Yaroslav Emelianenko, who in recent days has been actively covering the situation with fires on Facebook, expressed doubt that the authorities are able to cope with the fire.

“The situation is critical. The area is blazing. The local authorities report that everything is under control, but in fact, fire is rapidly seizing new territories, ”he wrote on April 13.

According to the activist, by Monday the fire reached Pripyat and was only two kilometers from the radioactive waste storage facilities, as well as from Chernobyl itself.

The businessman was particularly indignant at the fact that the Ukrainian authorities did not talk about the real situation in the Chernobyl zone and did not allow volunteers and journalists to take the scene.

Doubts about the reliability of the data provided by the Ukrainian leadership are partly shared by the head of the Ukrainian Center for Political and Economic Analysis, Alexander Kava. As the expert noted in a commentary on RT, there is different information on the issue of fires in the Chernobyl zone.

“The State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine says that the fires stopped, but at the same time, journalists are posting a video on the network, where it is clear that the smoke is still going on. Judging by the level of precipitation, it is far from a fact that all the fires have been extinguished, ”the expert said.

Regular fires

It should be noted that this is not the first case of fires in the Chernobyl exclusion zone - they occur there regularly.

So, in 2015, the then Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk even flew the place of large-scale fires in the exclusion zone. As now, the authorities reported a normal level of radiation background. True, environmentalists did not share these estimates and seriously feared that the territory of Belarus would be exposed to radiation contamination due to wind.

Fires on the territory of the Chernobyl exclusion zone also occurred in 2016-2017.

• Fire truck in the forest fire zone on the territory of the Chernobyl exclusion zone
• Reuters

“This time, the fire was stopped literally a few kilometers from the repositories where nuclear waste is stored. At the same time, we have few people and equipment, ”explained a RT source in the State Emergency Situations Service of Ukraine.

According to experts, despite the fact that the fires in this zone are not the first time, the Ukrainian authorities cannot effectively prepare for such situations and prevent them.

“If the fire lasted 11 days, then this indicates that the authorities were not ready for such a development of the situation. In fact, the problem could be solved by creating the necessary number of fire stations around the exclusion zone or by purchasing modern fire-fighting aircraft, ”said Alexander Kava.

Penalties

To try to prevent similar cases in the future, on April 13, 2020, the Rada voted to tighten its responsibility for burning dry grass. The document is sent for signature to the president.

According to the bill, fines for violation of fire safety requirements in forests can increase from 1530 UAH to 15300 UAH, and for unauthorized burning of vegetation or its residues within the territories and objects of the nature reserve fund from 6120 UAH to 30600 UAH.

• Smoke rising from a forest fire near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, 2015
• AFP
• © Ukrainian Prime Minister press-service

At the same time, for the destruction or damage of “plant world objects” around settlements, the fine can be from 91,800 to 153 thousand UAH. For comparison, the average salary of Ukrainians at the beginning of 2020, according to the State Statistics Service, was 10,727 hryvnias per month.

True, the RT source in the State Emergency Service doubts that even such high fines will take effect.

“There is little hope that these measures will help, since laws are poorly implemented in Ukraine,” he said.

A similar point of view is shared by the RT source in the Voice party. In his opinion, fines will not stop people from burning grass.

“What penalty can be taken from a poor peasant? It is frightening that at the level of the country's leadership no one pays attention to this problem at all. Apparently, the authorities are waiting for Ukraine to once again appear on all pages of the world media with another catastrophe, ”the deputy summed up.