In the first 37 days of 2017, the Fire Department dealt with 1,500 incidents of burning bushes and scrubland. Last year, they took care of 12,000 similar cases. Each of these services have a cost for the institution, ranging from ¢ 200 thousand to ¢ 1 million.
Until 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, there was one incident of this type every 12 minutes.
Juan Guillermo Alvarado, manager of Plans and Operations of the Fire Department, said that these are one of the main problems that arise with the arrival of summer, especially between December and May, in the rush hours between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
The cost of each emergency depends on the amount of resources we have to allocate to deal with it. A small incident that is easy to deal with with a small, 2-men unit can cost ¢ 200 mil. A major incident that requires 2 or 3 units and a whole working day, or even forest fires, will cost more than one million colones,”
said Alvarado.
The factors that inflate these figures are: salary paid to emergency personnel, the cost of fuels, the depreciation of the units, the cost of worn out equipment.
According to information from the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC), the most affected types of vegetation by forest fires in 2016 were scrublands, with about 19 thousand hectares.
Luis Diego Román, coordinator of the National Commission on Forest Fires (CONIFOR), said that vegetation or trash burning is prohibited in urban areas, while agricultural use require a permit.
However, of the 114 forest fires controlled by SINAC last year, 39% originated from agricultural burning and grazing.
Strong gusts of wind, heat, drought and neglect of people are factors that play in favor of these emergencies.
Alvarado also said that the time and resources allocated to control these incidents, which can be prevented, could be used for other emergencies.
We must take into account the danger they pose. A burning scrubland can get out of control and could damage structures and cause deaths, damage to animals and agriculture,”
said Alvarado, who also noted that although there are specific regulations for burning, they can rarely hold people accountable. Therefore, firefighters call for prevention measures.