That is why the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, together with the State Fire Service, launched the “Stop grass fires” campaign. The information campaign aims to raise awareness of how harmful grass burning is to the environment. It causes hundreds of thousands of fires in which people lose everything they have worked for throughout their lives and may even die.
This year, the State Fire Service has already recorded 38,634 grass fires, in which two people died and 101 were injured. Last year, fires of this type were also the direct cause of two deaths—in 2011, there were as many as sixteen victims. Because of their nature and usually considerable size, fires in wasteland engage a significant number of firefighters and resources. Every intervention involves considerable financial expense. Losses caused by grass fires in 2017 were estimated at more than PLN 10 million.
Every year, firefighters battle the phenomenon of grass burning. Most such incidents occur in March and April. In 2017 alone, 266,000 firefighters were dispatched to extinguish grass fires. The “Stop grass fires” information campaign aims to raise public awareness of the negative effects of grass burning. On the specially prepared website www.stoppozaromtraw.pl, you can find, among other things, statistics on the harmful effects of grass burning, as well as the negative consequences of such incidents.
It should be remembered that after winter, grass is dry and burns very quickly. According to information from the fire service, a fire can spread at more than 20 km/h (by comparison, fast running is almost 19 km/h, while fast cycling is around 30 km/h). Wind also helps the fire spread. It is impossible to control the blaze and the extent and direction of grass burning on your own—fires very often spread to nearby forests and buildings at an exceptionally rapid pace. People are responsible for more than 94% of the causes of this type of fire.