The country needs 340 more firefighters to reach the legally required number, according to a Center for Civil Communications survey that also says fire departments and hospitals nationwide use vehicles that are decades old.
The country’s 34 fire departments use a total of 284 vehicles, including fire trucks, water tankers, and transport vehicles. Half of these vehicles are older than 30 years. Only 15 percent of them were produced in the last decade. Sixty-five vehicles were bought in the previous three years, but they are also 17 years old on average. The oldest firefighting vehicle is the Valandovo fire department’s 57 years old 1966 TAM fire truck.
