Baosici: Every House Saved, Trebinje Sends 10 Firefighters
Not a single house burned after a night in which the fire reached settlements between Bijela and Baosici. Trebinje sent ten firefighters and two vehicles.
The fire that broke out above Bijela on Wednesday afternoon and then crossed the ridge toward Baosici was still not under control on Thursday afternoon. What has been achieved, after a night in which the fire line stretched for several kilometres through a densely populated area, is this: not a single house burned and no building was damaged.
Jovica Misinezovic, deputy commander of the Herceg Novi Protection and Rescue Service, said around midday that every available crew was still working and that he hoped the day would bring a turn.
The fire is not under control yet, but buildings are not threatened. Our priority is to save human lives and property. The intensity and direction of the wind keep changing, but I hope we will bring the situation under control during the day.
Nikola Blecic, head of the Interior Ministry directorate, called the situation better than it had been overnight, but said the focus had shifted.
We are monitoring the situation now, and the most critical point is in Bijela. Aircraft are operating, all available forces are on the ground and we will do everything we can to prevent the fire from escalating again.
Zlatko Cirovic, commander of the Herceg Novi Protection and Rescue Service, told the morning programme of Radio Television of Montenegro that around 50 houses were at risk at one point and that all of them are now safe.
The situation last night was very critical. Dozens of houses were at risk. The fire line is genuinely large, several kilometres. It runs from Bijela toward Baosici. A densely populated area, it was challenging, those houses had to be defended and we managed it.
Cirovic added that the wind still dictates how things develop and that the whole stretch from Bijela toward Baosici remains risky. Asked about water for firefighting, he said there was plenty of it, because tankers from the municipal companies Cistoca and Vodovod were on site and hydrants were close by. That refers to water for the crews. Households in Bijela and Baosici spent most of the night without both electricity and running water.
Who was on the ground
Alongside the Herceg Novi crews, the fire was fought by teams from Budva, Cetinje, Kotor, Tivat, Niksic and Trebinje, together with a large number of volunteers, hunters and municipal services.
Miodrag Knezevic, head of the Herceg Novi security department, confirmed that the entire local police force had been engaged from the moment the fire was reported, assisted by officers of the South regional centre, from Ulcinj to Kotor and Tivat. Police went to the most exposed houses and brought the residents out.
We visited every house that was critical in order to get people out of those buildings. With help from municipal services, accommodation in hotels, food and drink were arranged for residents and for everyone out in the field tonight. For now everything is under control, there is no panic. Every life and every building matters to us, and the firefighters are giving their maximum.
Knezevic also appealed to drivers and onlookers not to stop near the fire.
We ask the public for understanding, not to stop, not to take photographs and not to make recordings for personal promotion, and to follow the orders and advice of the police and the Protection and Rescue Service, so that traffic can move safely and the crews can work without obstruction.
Trebinje returned the favour
Ten firefighters with two vehicles arrived in Herceg Novi from Trebinje on Wednesday evening, after word came that the fire was closing in on houses. Members of the Trebinje Territorial Fire and Rescue Unit stayed on the ground all night.
Dejan Kasikovic, commander of that unit, told the Srna news agency that the morning brought some relief but not an end to the job.
The situation is somewhat better this morning, but the fire is still active. The fight in Baosici continues.
Mirko Curic, the mayor of Trebinje, pointed out that the help does not run in one direction. Herceg Novi crews had spent the previous days fighting large fires in the Trebinje area, so the Trebinje firefighters made themselves available to their colleagues across the border as soon as they could.
No injuries
According to reports from the ground, nobody was hurt overnight or during the morning, neither firefighters nor residents, tourists or police officers.
Power is being restored across most of the area, while a few houses below the main road, in the part belonging to Djenovici, were still without supply this morning.
The first aircraft of the Montenegrin Interior Ministry’s Directorate for Protection and Rescue returned over the fire site in the morning, with a second one expected. During Wednesday, two Air Tractor AT-802 aircraft dropped 72 tonnes of water in 24 passes at this site, while an Antonov AN-32P dropped 56 tonnes in seven passes.
For how the night looked when the fire first reached the houses, see our earlier report.
The Bijela to Baosici stretch remains the most serious fire site in Montenegro, and by the afternoon the focus had moved back toward Bijela. Fires are also burning at Ponikvice near Niksic, on Mount Lisinj near Bar and at Velje Duboko near Kolasin, while the fire in Doljani near Podgorica has been put out.
