The Našice Public Fire Brigade (Javna vatrogasna postrojba Našice) presented a new specialised vehicle for extinguishing forest fires on 3 November, valued at €280,000. The vehicle is equipped with four-wheel drive, a 5,000-litre water tank and top-tier equipment, and was purchased using funds for the public utility functions of forests in cooperation with the relevant ministry and the Croatian Fire Service Community.
The purchase of the vehicle was financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry of the Republic of Croatia, the Fire Service Community of Osijek-Baranja County and the City of Našice. Those present at the presentation included Zdenko Čarapar, president of the Fire Service Community of Osijek-Baranja County; Krešimir Kašuba, mayor of Našice, accompanied by staff; Danijel Matković, commander of the JVP Našice; and members of the brigade. Commander Matković thanked the donors and everyone who helped the brigade acquire the vehicle.
Mayor Kašuba highlighted that this is the sixth vehicle in total in the JVP Našice garage. Prior to this, JVP Našice had travelled to Tyrol to collect a ladder truck. The City of Našice secures €1 million annually for fire services, with the ratio of those funds being 70 per cent from the city and 30 per cent from the state. An additional €114,000 is invested annually in the Fire Service Community of the City of Našice, which covers the area of Našice and five surrounding municipalities.
Zdenko Čarapar, president of the Fire Service Community of Osijek-Baranja County, said that the vehicle is the result of the continued excellent cooperation between the Croatian Fire Service Community and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry of the Republic of Croatia. Five vehicles of this type, made by Volvo, are arriving in the Osijek-Baranja County area, of which two have a capacity of 5,000 litres and three have a capacity of 2,500 litres. One of the vehicles, valued at more than €282,000, was allocated to JVP Našice as one of the key brigades.
Within a few days, 50 new pick-up vehicles equipped with a high-pressure module for extinguishing open-space fires will arrive. Našice, Osijek and Čepin were not included in this project, but vehicles for those cities and towns have been secured in cooperation with the Ministry, through compensation for the public utility functions of forests. The vehicles of fire brigades and societies were previously around 40 years old, and the age of the vehicles has been reduced to 20 years.
The Našice Public Fire Brigade was established on 14 February 2011 and serves the city and five surrounding municipalities. Alongside the presentation of the vehicle, water tankers are also arriving in the Osijek-Baranja County area.
