On Tuesday, July 6, the Cabinet supported an informative report submitted by the Ministry of the Interior on the granting of funding to the Ministry of the Interior for the purchase of special fire-fighting and rescue vehicles, which means that funding for the purchase of special vehicles from the State Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) will be provided in the state budget for 2022.
"The renovation of the national fire and rescue service fleet has been one of the priorities of our ministry, where long and intensive work has been done. When I met with the management of the State Fire and Rescue Service and attended the fire depot, I had the opportunity to see how critical the car park was in there. We cannot expect firefighters to protect lives if some firefighters are still from Soviet times. Therefore, the gradual re-introduction of the fleet was a critical issue at the moment. Modern firefighters, able to help quickly respond to fires, will save not only the lives of the population but also protect our firefighters from risking their lives,” stresses the Minister for Interior Affairs, Marija Golubeva.
The average age of a road tanker in operation is 21.3 years. At present, the SFRS has at its disposal 204 road tankers with a useful life of more than 10 years (95 road tankers have a service life of more than 30 years) and only 64 road tankers with a service life of fewer than 10 years. Also, currently, about 100 special vehicles, which are manufactured based on ZIL-130 and ZIL-131 chassis and are between 25 and 50 years of age, are used in SFRS parts and posts.
The technical tactical performance of ZIL cars does not meet modern requirements, SFRS cannot provide quality service with obsolete specialized vehicles. Comparing the equipment of a modern MAN tank truck delivered in 2018 with the equipment of the ZIL-131 car, the SFRS has concluded that the equipment of ZIL-131 fire fighting and rescue works significantly reduces the tactical and efficiency possibilities in crises.
A society with limited responsibility “CSE COE” has performed an audit of the road transport management system and related functions and costs in the home affairs sector, in which it was concluded that more than 65% of the special vehicle fleet or approximately 200 special vehicles need to be renewed as a matter of urgency.
In 2022 and 2023, the shortage of the 68 required special vehicles would mean paralyzing or even closing the operations of 59 depots (46 regional posts and 13 regional parts).
Therefore, understanding the financial possibilities of the state budget, SFRS plans to purchase additional necessary special vehicles (176 technical units) gradually, dividing the financing in the period from 2022 to 2026 by years in the following amount: in 2022 11 998 002 euros, 2023 10,191,990 euros in 2024, 14,020,142 euros in 2024, 11,841,370 euros in 2025 and 11,882,510 euros in 2026.
Prepared by:
Department of Communications
Ministry of the Interior