How to prevent forest fires

HOW TO PREVENT FOREST FIRES

Italy, during the summer months, seems like the land of bonfires. Fires and blazes everywhere, with double damage and double waste: whole pieces of vegetation, first of all trees, which are lost, and enormous risks first and foremost for human lives.

On one side there are the professional arsonists, real criminals, who should be identified and punished (but you know: in Italy for this type of crime there is a sort of widespread impunity), on the other side, however, there are us, with our behaviors and our lifestylesSometimes crazy.

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FOREST FIRE PREVENTION

How can we explain, for example, that in the Rome area alone, which is rich in pine forests, we have reached 50 fires a day during the summer months? There are arsonists, there is the racketeering industry that operates through arson, there is drought, and there are the usual wretches who, for example, light a few bonfires in fields where the grass is tall. and no mowing operations were carried out.

To avoid this third and widespread category of summer fires, you simply need to take some precautions, which we summarize here, with the help of the best experts from the Civil Protection and Fire Departments. Read on, and You will discover that it takes very little to eliminate an absurd waste of our land.

HOW TO AVOID FOREST FIRES

• Do not light bonfires or fires in the woods during the outings and use the designated equipped areas.
• When you go hiking in the woods do not park your car in contact with dry grassa: The heat from the muffler can start a fire.
• Do not leave waste on the ground, because they are highly flammable, place them in the appropriate containers.
• Never throw away cigarette butts or still lit matches.
• In the warmer months do not burn stubble, straw and other plant residues in an uncontrolled manner.

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WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF A FOREST FIRE

Call one of the following numbers:

• 115, the national emergency number of the National Fire Brigade
• 1515, the national emergency number of the State Forestry Corps

Try, if you can, to turn it off but only if you are sure of a escape: a road or a body of water.

• In any case, get with the back to the wind, beat a twig or a green branch on the small burning area until the fire is smothered.

• If you are unfortunately at risk of being hit by fire, it is advisable try to go around it along the sides, where the intensity of the flames is lower, pass through the already burned area, and positioning yourself in a safe position, upwind, await help.

• It is best not to stay in places above the fire or in areas where the wind is blowing.

• Do not stop along the roads near the fire: you could hinder the response teams.

• If the road is closed, don't join the queue and go back.

• Don't cross the street filled with smoke and from the flames.

• Indicate the roads or areas to the firefighting teams paths you know and make your water reserves available.

WHY DOES A FOREST FIRE CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT?

When a forest burns, a very rapid process of decomposition of all the matter that composes it is set in motion. The damage and waste are enormous. And they are of two types, direct e indirectThe former include the loss of plants, even rare ones, and of woody mass, which serves multiple purposes. Indirect damage, however, occurs in various directions. The forest is a natural defense against hydrogeological instability: once it burns, rebuilding it requires time, money, and a great deal of effort. Meanwhile, defense against natural events, such as floods, has collapsed. With forest fires, oxygen production in the affected area is reduced to zero, becoming the conservation of the area's natural habitat is at risk, and pays the price for all the tourist activity that revolves around excursions in the boschi.

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WHAT TO DO BEFORE LEAVING A BURNING FOREST?

Given that with a forest on fire no one should feel like a hero and everyone must abide by the rules which we have indicated, starting from the report to the Fire BrigadeYou can intervene directly, before leaving the fire, provided the following conditions are met. There must be an easy escape route, you are confident you won't put your safety at risk, and you can act not alone but also with others. If even one of these conditions is missing, you must leave the fire site as quickly as possible.

WHAT TO DO IN THE PRESENCE OF FIRE SMOKE?

We may have wasted precious time before deciding to abandon the burning forest, and found ourselves surrounded by smoke. At this point, specific countermeasures are implemented to safely leave the epicenter of the flames. We walk bent over, almost at ground level, breathing as little as possibleIf we can crawl, the air is more breathable and contains fewer toxic gases. We protect our mouth and nose with a wet handkerchief With water or even just saliva. And we move straight, without hesitation, toward the goal of exiting the flame-affected area.

HOW MUCH DO TREES MATTER IN OUR LIVES?:

• Tree-lined cities: the 5 most beautiful in the world. With dreamy avenues, parks, and gardens.
• Walking among the trees eliminates stress and reduces the risk of depression.
• Trees talk, conserve, argue. Like us humans: and how much they resemble us.