Civil Defense puts out forest fire near Jamhour
Civil Defense puts out forest fire near Jamhour
22 August 2012
published by www.dailystar.com.lb
Lebanon–– BEIRUT: A forest fire broke out near Jamhour Tuesday, adding to the blazes the countrys Civil Defense has had to battle during the peak fire season.
The fire erupted in the mountains southeast of Beirut near a public area, the National News Agency reported. Civil Defense teams were said to have immediately responded to douse the flames, the NNA said.
The national director of Civil Defense also announced that Civil Defense teams and the Lebanese Army had put out fires across the country after lengthy firefighting campaigns. The fires were mostly limited to the countryside and municipal areas such as Awkar and Baabdat.
Summer is the peak forest fire season in Lebanon due to the long period of dry heat. During the worst years the country sees large swaths of land consumed by flame and thousands of people displaced from their homes.
Experts warn that the fire season is becoming longer and stronger due to climate changes and lack of basic fire prevention methods. The countrys forest coverage is at 13 percent compared to 30 percent in 1980.
The government has recently installed a number of forest fighting watch surveillance systems to detect blazes using climate sensors. The systems were installed with the help of several foreign governments and the foreign donors also provided the country with new forest fighting equipment such as trucks and forest fighter gear.
Also Tuesday, Civil Defense personnel contained a fire that erupted in the Mdawwar neighborhood in Karantina and sent black smoke billowing over the area, the NNA reported.
The fire broke out at a gas station belonging to the Lebanese Company for Metals. Employees were evacuated from the building and four vehicles belonging to Civil Defense arrived immediately after the fire erupted to put out the blaze.
