site.btaParliamentary Committee on Internal Security Discusses BG-ALERT System

At Thursday's sitting of the parliamentary Committee on Internal Security and Public Order, Interior Ministry employees commented that there should be clearer rules on the activation of the BG-ALERT system. Deputy Interior Minister Stoyan Temelakiev called for a detailed review of the regulatory framework to eliminate any ambiguities in the interpretation of the rules and protocol to be observed when deciding whether or not to active the emergency warning system. The situation with the wildfires in Bulgaria has shown that the process of managing BG-ALERT should be made easy and the rules, clearer, he added.

Temelakiev said that the teams of the Directorate General Fire Safety and Civil Protection are currently working on 15 accidents with 77 units of equipment.

The head of DG Fire Safety and Civil Protection, Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov, told the MPs that the BG-ALERT system can be activated through mayors of municipalities, regional governors, and ministers, and the request is coordinated with the DG. When the corresponding competent bodies lack access to the system, after a request to the DG they create and send a message on the system.

Dhzartov commented that in the case of Voden village, the fire changed its direction towards the village extremely quickly. Technological time is needed to active more complex warning systems, such as BG-ALERT.

The Committee and Interior Ministry representatives also discussed the need of amendments to the Public Procurement Act to allow for quicker acquisition of specialized equipment when necessary.