President Milanović Visits Area Affected by Wildfire on Hvar Island

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović visited today the area of Vrbanj – Dol near Stari Grad on the island of Hvar that was affected by a wildfire. In the town of Vrbanj, at the location where a local resident died while attempting to save his house and excavator, President Milanović said that extinguishing the fire, which erupted in the area the day before, was another example of a good and fast reaction by the local firefighters, and added: “If only the man who tried to save his property had not died. I call on all people who find themselves in a situation like this one to put themselves and their families first.”

Congratulating the local firefighters and residents of the island, President Milanović also mentioned the firefighters who came on the island to help. “The team from Imotski, that is, from Lovreć that I saw, the firefighters who came to help. These are the right kind of people. The blaze in the forest needed to be put out, but firefighting planes have a limited ability to act there. When firefighting planes dispose the water, it’s the treetops that get wet, and the fire below stays. So, people are needed,” said the President.

When asked by journalists if we were adequately prepared for the fire season, President Milanović said that on the islands the first two or three hours are the most critical, as they depend solely on the islanders’ reaction. “They proved themselves as brave professionals in this regard. These are natural disasters. It would be best if all six firefighting planes that we have were operational during the fire season, but that won’t happen. The government is responsible for that, (Minister) Banožić. There are no hangars for the helicopters we get as a donation; we keep them out in the rain. At the start of the fire season, four out of six firefighting planes are in service. I don’t understand why it’s not at least five,” said President Milanović, adding that he is not interested in whether the Ministry of Defense has paid for the repair of the aircraft in advance and that he is only interested in whether the work has been completed.

Commenting on the delay in the construction of a series of coastal patrol vessels contracted for the Ministry of Defense, President Milanović said that the tender was won by a Croatian shipyard. “Seven years have passed and only one ship has set sail. I have not been responsible for this since January 2016. And it was not a bogus project. It was a real project, it received financing and the ships were designed. A Croatian shipyard which ran into difficulties was given the job, but I am not interested in that. The Ministry of Defense must have and has instruments to deal with such matters so that the army, that is, the navy and the coast guard get what they want. This is not a job well done,” President Milanović concluded.

In the company of Mayor Antonio Škarpa of Stari Grad, President Milanović met and spoke with the fire chiefs and firefighters who fought the major blaze, including Chief Fire Commander Slavko Tucaković, Vice President of the Split-Dalmatia County Firefighting Association Mate Jeličić and Commander of the Hvar Volunteer Fire Department and the Hvar Operational Area Nikola Škare.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan