Firefighters and volunteers from municipalities from the South-Eastern planning region and from the Association of South-Western Municipalities-Blagoevgrad, Republic of Bulgaria, tested their knowledge today in Strumica through practical exercises.

The exercise took place within the framework of the sixth specialized training which took place yesterday and today in Strumica within the framework of the project "Cross-border cooperation in dealing with forest fires".

According to Mima Stanoevska from the Center for Development of the Southeast Planning Region, today's exercise marks the completion of the project.

Firefighters and volunteers compete in three disciplines, and at the end the winners will receive symbolic prizes. It is important to point out that all firefighters from both sides received personal protective equipment through this project, i.e. a set of clothes for dealing with forest fires, as well as appropriate equipment, said Stanoevska.

Ljubica Tomova, executive director of the Association of Southwestern Municipalities from Bulgaria, underlined that this is the first such project to fight against forest fires and she hopes it will not be the last.

Through this project, we presented our achievements and preparedness to the voluntary firefighting societies, which exist in each of our municipalities. In addition to the training, it is very significant that all the firefighters received equipment and we will continue to work in a network for quick deployment without waiting for administrative procedures so that the firefighters can act successfully, Tomova said.

Professional anti-fire companies from Strumica, Radovish, Valandovo and Gevgelija and voluntary anti-fire companies from Konche and Dojran participate in the competition, and 16 voluntary anti-fire companies from the Bulgarian side.

The project is financed by the European Union through the Interreg-IPA Program for cross-border cooperation between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, and is implemented by the Center for the Development of the South-Eastern Planning Region and the Association of South-West Municipalities-Blagoevgrad, Republic of Bulgaria.