Rescue Board declares period of great fire hazard across Estonia

TALLINN – The Rescue Board as of Saturday has declared a period of great fire hazard across Estonia due to dry and hot weather.

A period of great fire hazard brings along additional restrictions foremost concerning activities in the forest and starting from Saturday, using an open fire in the forest will be forbidden, the Rescue Board said. The Rescue Board and the Police and Border Guard Board are to also start carrying out joint patrols at campfire sites and swimming spots.

"Both the Rescue Board and the Police and Border Guard Board this weekend will pay heightened attention to people's safe behavior both by bodies of water as well as in nature," Tauno Suurkivi, deputy director general of the Rescue Board, said.

This is the first such joint action and Suurkivi said that it is laudable that alongside their main work, police officers have enough strength to also pay attention to safety in the rescue field. The Police and Border Guard Board also has a helicopter in a state of heightened readiness for responding immediately to smaller events.

During a period of great fire hazard, people are forbidden from smoking, using grilling devices, building a fire and using any kind of open fire in the forest and on the terrain, including places prepared for these activities, like the campfire sites of state forest management center RMK.

People should also avoid driving motor vehicles in nature. Cars should be parked on nonflammable ground and ATVs should not be used for driving on peaty terrain.