site.btaPrime Minister: Fire Near Voden Village Contained, Situation Stabilized

A major fire near the southeastern village of Voden is now contained, Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said during a Q&A session for the media and citizens on Facebook Tuesday morning. He answered questions regarding the response to the Voden fires.

"Hopefully, the response units will be relocated by the end of the day. We thank the firefighters, servicemen, and volunteers, we thank Turkiye and Spain for their support, all of which contributed to quickly controlling the fire," Glavchev said.

He confirmed that victims of the fire would receive assistance and compensation.

"The initial response to the disaster focused on extinguishing the fire, prioritizing this as the crucial first step. Following that, authorities swiftly moved to implement legally mandated compensations for those affected. This process begins with immediate fire control, swiftly followed by the initiation of financial relief measures," Glavchev said.

"Everyone will receive the legally mandated compensation," he assured.

Glavchev noted that the law allocates BGN 1,578 for emergency expenditures. "The Social Assistance Fund has allocated BGN 2,500 for replacement of furniture lost in the fire. Temporary accommodation has been provided in the form of mobile homes for those in need, after they have submitted their applications. Thankfully, only the site of the largest fire in the Voden and Kraynovo village area required such provisions. The mobile homes were promptly dispatched as soon as the need was identified," he said.

Glavchev said he found out that mobile homes were needed from media reports. He said he was on location the previous day and spoke to the local mayor but he didn't mention anything. "He only mentioned it the next day when he met with President Radev. Regardless, we responded as soon as we found out, and new vans were introduced to address the shortage. Despite speculations on the topic, those units that do not yet meeting living standards will not be used until the necessary adaptations are made," he added.

Glavchev confirmed that most of the mobile homes are brand new. "Perhaps an error occurred further down the chain, resulting in the dispatch of substandard mobile homes, a mistake that would inevitably lead to penalties,” he concluded.