IGSU: More than 21,000 firefighter interventions in H1

Firefighters intervened in more than 21,000 fires in the first six months of 2019, with the number of wildfires having increased significantly, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) said on Thursday. 

"In the reporting period, there have been 21,174 fire suppression responses (of which 11,779 for dry vegetation fires). A particular element in H1 is represented by the significant increase, by about 300 pct, in the number of dry vegetation fires, compared to the similar period of the year before. This is the consequence of the large number of out-of-control fires occurred during farmland clearing by burning," the IGSU said in a statement. 

According to the cited source, there have been 243,030 emergency responses nationwide, by 12 percent more compared to the same period last year.