The Croatian Firefighter Task Force  – experienced and prepared for any task

The Croatian Defence Minister Ante Kotromanović and the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, General Drago Lovrić on 24 July 2015 visited the Firefighter Task Force of the 93rd Air Base in the Zemunik Barracks. They were briefed by the Chief of Staff of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence, Brigadier General Miroslav Kovač, the Commander of the 93rd Air Base, Colonel Karol Lučan and by the Commander of the Firefighter Squadron, Major Davor Turković on the activities of the Squadron in the Firefighter Season 2015.
Minister Kotromanović extended appreciation the pilots for their contribution in fighting with the fires in a large part of Croatia. “The Croatian air forces are competent, and we expect you to endure,  the firefighting season is still long and unpredictable. You will be rewarded for your huge firefighting and protection efforts“. The Minister forwarded the appreciation from the citizens of the fire-endangerd areas to the pilot for protecting their homes and property. “The citizens are grateful and proud of you; the Army forces are here too, we have to extend our appreciation to them as well . The Croatian Armed Forces will always be ready and stand-by, even with a number of other tasks assigned to them“, stated the Minister.
Minister Kotromanović said Croatia didn’t need the assistance from other countries with firefighting as the Croatian firefightging forces and authorities were monitoring the situation closely and assessing the needs.  “Croatia highly appreciates all offers of assistance but can rely on its efficient air forces, which were engaged assisting other countries hit by ravaging fires in the past years“. 
General Lovrić extended the appreciation for his part to all pilots and aircraft technicians for the overall endeavour in all firefighting seasons: “ I extend the appreciation to you on behalf of the Croatian Armed Forces for the endurance and extreme efforts fighting large fires in the Adriatic coast and saving human lives, the property and the locations as well“ , said General Lovrić, who also pointed out that the fire protection system can be further improved, but prevention was the most important element. “The Croatian Air Force is a small yet efficient and highly engaged force, which along with the humanitarian misions, such as firefighting, search-and-rescue and emergency medical flights, exercises 24-h control and protection of the national air space, trains the Croatian and Omani pilots and takes part in international peace missions“.
The Commander of the Firefighter Squadron reported two large fires to be put under control within the following hours.  “We are doing our best to exthinguish the fires. Two new large fires just broke out simultaneously, but we are doing our job and employing all available forces for extended hours. The Season 2015 is among the average seasons in terms of the number of fires and the nubmer of runs alike. We are flying eight and more hours and fortunately have enough aircraft at our disposal, the credit fro which goes to the aircraft technicians. We possess experience and the readiness required for the task“, said Major Turković.
There are presently 100 members of the Croatian Army and the air forces of the Firefighter Task Force dispatched to fire sites, equipped with three Canadairs CL-415, two AT-802 Air Tractors and one Mi-8 MTV helicopter.
Expressed in figures: the Croatian Task Firefighter Forces have logged 531 hours (equalling 22 days) in firefighting and cca 22,000 t of water dropped on the fire sites.
“ I extend the appreciation to you on behalf of the Croatian Armed Forces for the endurance and extreme efforts fighting large fires in the Adriatic coast and saving human lives, the property and the locations hit by the fires as well“, stated General Drago Lovrić.
„We are flying eight and more hours and fortunately have enough aircraft at our disposal, the credit fro which goes to the aircraft technicians. We possess experience and the readiness required for the task“, said the Commander of the Firefighter Squadron, Major Davor Turković.