Nearly 3000 Emergency Incidents in the Last 3 Months: Ministry of Emergency Situations

On April 4, a working consultation was held at the Ministry of Emergency Situations under the leadership of the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Director of the Emergency Situations Service, Colonel Kamo Tsutsulyan. The consultation was attended by the Deputy Directors of the Emergency Situations Service, heads of structural and territorial divisions, and commanders of fire-rescue teams in the Yerevan rescue management.

During the meeting, the Director of the Emergency Situations Service presented the results of the activities of the Ministry in the first quarter of 2024, particularly regarding the implementation of measures for the protection of the population in emergency situations, the improvement of the civil protection system, and effective organization of response activities.

During the reporting period, 2,935 emergency incidents were recorded in the country, including 1,214 fires, 924 road traffic accidents, 491 poisonings, 27 collapses, 11 explosions, and 2,026 domestic and other incidents. Most of the fires were registered in vegetative cover areas, resulting in approximately 639.6 hectares being burned. The emergency service units rescued 41 people.

During the examined period, due to various factors, the emergency service units removed 3,967 vehicles from roadblocks on the country’s highways and transferred 7,798 people to safe areas. Temporary checkpoints served 127 incidents and removed 799 vehicles from blockades.

Efforts were made in the direction of preventing emergencies and eliminating their consequences. For the purpose of awareness and training, the Emergency Situations Service organized and conducted 464 training sessions on the topics of “Behavioral Rules for the Population During Earthquakes” and “Organization of Evacuation of the Population” in general education, initial vocational, intermediate vocational, and higher education institutions, which were also attended by patrol service officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

To ensure safety in adjacent areas, several proposals were submitted to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure for cleaning, deepening, and other necessary measures in dangerous sections of riverbeds, drainage systems, and mudflow areas. Safety certificates for industrial facilities were developed, along with disaster risk management plans for the communities of Vedi and two newly built schools in Armenia.

Work has been carried out in the areas of planning, implementation, preparation of the civil protection system, preparedness of rescue forces, as well as the provision of medical and psychological support. Training courses on “First Aid” and “First Psychological Aid” were held with the emergency and police officers, as well as employees from other agencies, schools, and kindergartens.

After hearing the reports from the heads of departments regarding the work done and ongoing activities, the Director of the Service issued clear directives and assignments, highlighting the issues that emerged during operations in various units. The Director of the Emergency Situations Service directed that work be carried out to improve the service, focusing on performance and work discipline.

Kamo Tsutsulyan instructed to strengthen control in vegetated and grass-covered areas in light of increased tourism and spring agricultural activities to prevent fire outbreaks. Additionally, studies should be conducted in landslide-prone areas, in dangerous sections where rockfalls may occur, and if necessary, to actively participate in compulsory rockfall operations.

Summarizing the work carried out during the quarter, the Director of the Emergency Situations Service expressed gratitude to the regular personnel for their conscientious service and readiness, noting that several emergency service workers were rewarded for proper responses to particularly complex incidents and for their exemplary performance. The performance of the Yerevan rescue management units, the Psychological Support Department, and the Medical Support Division was highly evaluated for effective work and performance during the reporting period.

At the end of the meeting, the Director of the Emergency Situations Service summarized the results, positively assessing the work done and providing several assignments to carry out the work more effectively.