Issues of fire safety during the heating period were considered at the Government session chaired by Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov. The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Syrym Sharipkhanov reported on preventive work before the season. Akims of Almaty region Marat Sultangaziyev, Abay region Nurlan Urankhayev and Head of East Kazakhstan region Yermek Kosherbayev told about the situation on the ground.

According to statistics, the number of fires increases annually with the onset of the heating period. In general, in the residential sector since the beginning of 2023 they have been registered more than 4 thousand. 203 people died, 193 received burns and poisoning. 

According to the Minister of Emergency Situations, the increase in the number of deaths in fires is observed in Shymkent city, Zhambyl, Aktobe and Karaganda regions.

"In order to increase the level of protection of the population and reduce damage from fires, preventive raids, actions, campaigns and meetings with the population are conducted on a systematic basis. In order to introduce modern technologies to prevent and eliminate fires, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has studied international experience in fire safety in the most developed countries of the world, analyzed world fire statistics. Scientific research has shown that the death of a person in a fire occurs in 5-6 minutes after its occurrence," Syrym Sharipkhanov said. 

In this regard, all possible ways to reduce the time of assistance to citizens in case of fires by automating the workplaces of duty dispatch services are considered. In addition, data on the place of residence of 95 thousand persons with disabilities have been determined, which allows to automatically bring to the rescuers information about the presence of immobile citizens at the fire.

As part of the transformation of the Ministry and systematic transition from emergency response to prevention of emergencies, a set of measures to improve the safety culture of the population is being implemented. The most accessible way of informing citizens of the requirements of fire safety in the home is still a large-scale campaign and awareness-raising work. More than 4.5 thousand speeches were published in mass media.

"For the first time in August, the Ministry of Emergency Situations together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted a republican operational and preventive event "GAS BALLON", during which raids were conducted on highways and parking lots. Last year, the fire safety action "Zhataqkhana", which is aimed at conducting mass awareness-raising work and identifying illegally operating dormitories, had a very good result. Raids covered about 1.5 thousand hostels, in order 700 revealed more than 3 thousand violations of fire safety requirements," the speaker said.

And the effectiveness of this work is confirmed by the reduction in the number of fires, victims and deaths in this category of buildings. For example, compared to last year, the number of fires has decreased by 36%, the number of victims has decreased by 2.5 times, and the number of fatalities has decreased by 6 times. The next action is planned for November.

"By the end of the year it is planned to conduct information campaigns "Beware of carbon monoxide" and "Safe New Year", in which all personnel will be involved. To date, prevention has covered more than 300 thousand houses, about 800 thousand citizens have been instructed, almost 100 thousand violations have been identified," the head of the agency stated. 

As in previous years, attention is focused on the housing of socially vulnerable groups of the population (elderly, disabled), large families. More than 130 thousand people have been registered. 

Another effective practice was the installation of sensors to detect dangerous concentration of gas and combustion products. Since 2016, they have been installed about 193 thousand. On the threshold of the current heating period - about 8 thousand.

"Since the beginning of this work, 49 cases of their operation have been recorded, thanks to which, it was possible to prevent the death of 219 people. At the same time, it is necessary to note here the tendency of the population's lack of interest in personal safety. For example, this year the residents of more than 10 thousand houses refused from preventive counseling. In this regard, through social networks, house chat rooms and educational organizations we are conducting a campaign "School-Children-Parents", through which elementary requirements of fire safety are unobtrusively introduced into families," Sharipkhanov said.

A separate problematic issue of ensuring the safety of citizens during the heating period is the prevention of emergencies associated with the use of domestic gas. Thus, on September 28 in Almaty region in 2 residential houses due to equipment malfunction there was an outbreak of gas mixture, as a result 9 people were injured, 3 died.

"On the recommendation for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, these facts were considered at an unscheduled meeting of the regional Commission on prevention and elimination of emergency situations with the participation of a representative of the Ministry. According to the results, the problematic points were identified. For example, today in the regions there is a shortage of qualified specialists controlling compliance with the requirements of safe operation of gas equipment of household consumers and a shortage of staff units. At the same time, since 2021, this function has been assigned to akimats and implemented by the Housing Inspectorate. Just last week I held a meeting with deputy akims of regions on the issue of improving the safety of the population in the operation of household gas cylinders and gas equipment. A number of recommendations were given," the general reported.

In particular, to reduce the risk of major emergencies during the heating period, the Ministry of Emergency Situations considers it necessary for akimats together with territorial departments of the agency to continue preventive work with the owners of objects, including public and private housing stock, as well as service companies on compliance with fire safety standards.

"The Ministries of Energy, Industry and Construction together with akimats should take measures to increase effective control by housing inspections for ensuring the safety of housing, including compliance with safety in the field of gas supply, with the application of administrative measures; to provide explanatory work among the owners of gas filling points on the identification procedures and functioning of the accounting systems of household cylinders," the Minister for Emergency Situations summarized.

#Government session #Heating season #Ministry for Emergency Situation