Preparation of the management staff of the Department of Internal Affairs for the elimination of the consequences of emergencies caused by forest fires

Gol'chevskii Vitalii Feliksovich PhD in Technical Science Lecturer at the Department of Tactical and Special Training of the East-Siberian Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 664074, Russia, Irkutskaya oblast', g. Irkutsk, ul. Lermontova, 110 GVF.65@mail.ru Other publications by this author

The duties of a modern Russian police officer are multifaceted and very specific, ranging from accepting applications from citizens to providing pre-medical care. In accordance with article 12 of the Law on the Police, the duties assigned to it are listed in eight rather substantial positions. One of them says that police officers are obliged to take urgent measures in emergency situations (hereinafter referred to as emergencies) to save citizens, protect property left unattended, facilitate the smooth operation of rescue services in these conditions; ensure public order during quarantine measures during epidemics and epizootics.

At first glance, everything is clear and specific, in accordance with the requirements of Federal Law, each employee, if necessary, is obliged to "take urgent measures to save citizens in an emergency," at the same time, nothing is said about personal safety when taking measures to save citizens.

A police officer who is injured or otherwise injured during rescue operations distracts other persons involved in rescue operations and significantly aggravates an already difficult situation.

         It is noted that the algorithm of actions of employees of the internal affairs bodies (hereinafter ATS) In emergency situations, it depends on the specific emergency circumstances. Adequate guidance is required from the management and the personnel involved in non-standard circumstances ^[1].

At what stage of training (retraining or advanced training) police officers are prepared for emergency actions, we will consider in this article the example of a fairly common emergency caused by forest fires.

The importance of this area in the operational and official activities of the police is evidenced by the fact that on June 15, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on combating forest fires: "In order to significantly reduce the area of forest fires, I decree the Government of the Russian Federation, together with senior officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, to reduce the area of forest fires on forest lands In 2022-2030, the fund will increase by at least 50 percent relative to the level of 2021."

On August 24, 2022, at a meeting on the elimination of the consequences of forest fires, the Head of State pointed out the need to create a single center to combat these emergencies.

There is no need to say that forest fires annually cause irreparable damage to the environment, destroy entire villages and disrupt the normal functioning of people.  So in Russia in 2023, the area of fires amounted to 4.3 million hectares, which is a third more than last year ^[2].

 Special attention should be paid to the specifics of training police officers to act in this emergency. Unfortunately, as practice has shown, even specially trained units sometimes find themselves in a very difficult situation.  So, when extinguishing a forest fire on an area of 500 hectares in Tuva, which suddenly moved in the area of the Barun-Kheminsky forestry to the riding, only 4 people out of 13 paratroopers of the Tuvan airbase left the scene of the fire. Nine paratroopers were killed. All paratroopers were trained, had professional skills and experience in extinguishing forest fires ^[3].

The given example suggests that any emergency situation carries a lot of hidden, unpredictable dangers and requires compliance with increased measures of personal and collective security.

Preparation for the organization of the activities of the heads of the territorial body of internal Affairs of the Department of Internal Affairs in emergency situations related to forest fires is carried out very superficially.

V.I. Kosyachenko et al. In their research, they note that the most important areas of training of police officers to act in emergency situations are the training of cadets of educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and police officers in techniques and methods of rational and safe performance of operational and official tasks ^{[4, 130c.]} This training of police officers should have a systematic process aimed at developing the necessary competencies and professional qualities of the individual in the course of solving operational and official tasks related to emergencies^[5]. 

As part of the additional professional retraining program for employees included in the personnel reserve of bodies, organizations, and divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, when studying the module "Organization of management of the activities of a body, organization, or subdivision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in special conditions", two topics are considered in which attention is paid to the activities of divisions of internal affairs bodies in emergency circumstances (hereinafter referred to as CHO)  and emergencies: "The concept, characteristics and legal foundations of the activities of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation in special conditions" - 2 hours of classroom time and "Regulatory legal support for the activities of bodies, organizations and divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the event of emergencies and emergencies" - 2 hours of classroom time.^[6].

         Due to the specifics of the topic under consideration, we are more interested in the second topic: "Regulatory legal support for the activities of bodies, organizations and departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the event of emergencies and emergencies." According to the results of mastering this educational program, students only in this area should be able to:

- to organize the preparation of information and analytical documents on the state of the operational situation and the results of the activities of bodies, organizations and departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia;

- to organize the activities of the operational management bodies of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the management of forces and means in the CHO;

- to develop documents for planning actions of the territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in case of emergency situations and emergencies, to make and adjust calculations of the forces and means involved in accordance with the plan;

- to direct the work of the operational management body for the management of forces and means in the event of emergencies and emergencies;

- to organize interaction with territorial bodies and subdivisions of federal executive authorities stationed in the service area and local self-government bodies;

- to make management decisions promptly in conditions of time and information shortage;

- organization of the management of forces and means in special conditions;

- organize and conduct exercises and trainings to prepare operational management bodies and groups of forces and means for action in emergencies and emergencies;

- to organize interaction with other law enforcement agencies, local self-government bodies in the areas of combating crime, protecting public order and ensuring public safety, in the event of emergencies and emergencies;

         Given the relevance, specificity and importance of this material to ensure the safety of personnel, the time included in the educational program is clearly not enough to consider this material.

As the conducted research has shown, the organization of actions of the grouping of forces and means of police units in the elimination of the consequences of emergencies and emergencies caused by forest fires is mainly reduced to solving the following main issues: 

1.      Preparation of a management decision on the organization of comprehensive, joint monitoring of the operational, including the fire situation in the serviced area.

2.      Creation of working groups for the collection and analysis of information and prompt response to changes in the forest fire situation in the service area. Prevention of forest fires, as well as identification and prosecution of those responsible for their occurrence and violators of fire safety rules.

3.      Holding meetings of commissions for the prevention and liquidation of emergency situations, and ensuring fire safety of municipalities with consideration of issues of readiness of forces and means to act in emergency situations.

4.      Ensuring interaction with territorial divisions of federal executive authorities, local governments, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, departments of the Rosselkhoznadzor, the Ministry of Forestry, voluntary fire brigades, local media and other public associations and organizations located in the fire-hazardous service area.

5. Development and introduction of operational changes to the main and alternate routes, adjustment of the evacuation procedure for citizens in case of fire hazard complications, provision of detours of damaged sections of roads, bridges, overpasses, as well as redistribution of traffic flows.

6.      Organization of timely documentation of offenses and crimes related to the deliberate destruction or damage of forests. Ensuring the departure of the SOG to the scene of the incident to collect materials and make a procedural decision.

7.      Conducting classes with personnel in the service training system on actions in case of emergency situations caused by a complication of a fire-hazardous situation, as well as providing first aid.

Classes with personnel should be conducted by employees of the management staff of the Department of Internal Affairs who have knowledge in this field and have practical experience in preventing and eliminating the consequences of emergencies ^{[7, 14c.]}.

Personal responsibility for ensuring the protection of public order and public safety during the forest fire season, as well as timely response and interaction with the territorial divisions of the unified emergency prevention and response system in the subordinate territory is assigned personally to the heads of the Department of Internal Affairs.

Detection of forest fires, their spread and extinguishing in accordance with the Forest Code of the Russian Federation is entrusted to forestry. In forestry, there is a special service that performs ground and air (aviation) control to prevent the occurrence of forest fires. Nevertheless, it is possible to solve this difficult state task only through the joint efforts of various forest users, law enforcement agencies and the population, who must carry out comprehensive work aimed at preventing the occurrence of forest fires and be prepared to extinguish them.

An accurate forecast of their occurrence in advance is of great importance in the successful fight against forest fires. It is necessary to predict the places and time of concentration of potential ignition sources that can lead to forest fires, take into account the influence of weather conditions that contribute to the ignition of combustible

materials in the forest, take into account the breed and age of the wood. For example, coniferous forests are more prone to fires than deciduous ones due to the presence of resinous substances and essential oils in coniferous trees. In young and medium-aged forests, there is a high probability of a grass-roots fire transition to an upper one due to the presence of dry lower branches and low-hanging crowns that have not fallen.

Every year, a large number of personnel from various ministries and departments, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, are involved in extinguishing forest fires past the local population.

Extinguishing forest fires is an extremely difficult and dangerous job, its

the effectiveness and safety of personnel is possible only with the correct application of fire fighting tactics, compliance with personal safety measures and the use of various modern technical means. Unfortunately, modern technical means of fighting forest fires are very expensive, they are not purchased much, and a limited number of people know how to work with them. This often leads to the fact that forest fires are extinguished in the old-fashioned way using brooms and satchel fire extinguishers, the effectiveness of which is very doubtful.   In detail, the safety requirements for all categories of private forest fire extinguishing workers are set out in the Order of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated 09/23/2020 No. 644n "On Approval of Labor Protection Rules in logging, woodworking industries and when performing forestry work" (Registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on 12/30/2020N61950).

Taking into account the specifics of service and the range of tasks solved by the staff of the Department of Internal Affairs in the elimination of the consequences of emergencies caused by forest fires, it is possible to recommend the following measures aimed at ensuring personal safety.

Only persons who have received appropriate training should be sent to extinguish forest fires.

Personnel must be provided with: individual protective equipment, overalls, fire equipment and equipment, camp property, mosquito and midge protection, individual medical packages and a group first-aid kit, a supply of food for three days, and not, as usually happens, for one, because according to the norms of the field kitchen begins to work exactly after three days. The supply of drinking water, which in the absence of water sources should be 5-6 liters per person.

Special clothing should be durable, not restrict movement, protect the body from thermal radiation and at the same time protect it from the cold at night. ^[8]

Before sending personnel to the extinguishing site, check the completeness, serviceability of the hand tool and test its operation. To make the fitting of work clothes and safety shoes, check the protective devices. To conduct an initial briefing on labor protection and directly at the place of extinguishing or other work.

         When following to the place of work, avoid areas of old harems, stone placers, windfall, etc. and, if necessary, overcome them with extreme caution.

The delivery of personnel to the site of a forest fire on foot or by any type of transport should be carried out only during daylight hours, under the unified guidance of a person who knows the area well and preferably after preliminary reconnaissance.

All actions for boarding and disembarking into the helicopter are performed, as a rule, with the engine turned off, the rotation of the screws completely stopped and at the command of the crew members.

Plan a place to stay in advance (at least one hour before dark).

Wading of rivers or marshy areas of swamps should be carried out under the guidance of a senior group or experienced guides.

All work on extinguishing forest fires should be carried out in groups of at least 2 people, one of whom is the eldest.

Before the start of fire extinguishing, the head organizes fire reconnaissance during which he determines its boundaries, the direction and speed of fire propagation, natural obstacles (rivers, ravines, etc.) in the path of fire propagation, chooses extinguishing tactics.

According to the results of the exploration, an additional briefing is conducted during which safe hiding places are necessarily indicated, which include large forest clearings, the shores of reservoirs. The orientation on the terrain is performed using a map with reference to the nearest settlements and transport communications.

The order of work, rest and meals is established. An instruction on actions in case of emergency situations is being conducted.

When extinguishing the edge of a fire, it is necessary to carry protective helmets, respirators and insulating gas masks.

Constantly monitor those working nearby, in case of their disappearance, immediately inform the senior.

Immediately move back to a safe distance in case of danger of coverage by the active edge of the fire.

It is strictly forbidden to leave the extinguishing site without permission, except in cases of danger, injury, burns or carbon monoxide poisoning, while warning an elder or, in extreme cases, a nearby person.

When extinguishing fires, constantly monitor the burnt trees in order to avoid their sudden fall.

All extinguishing operations in the high temperature zone should be carried out no more than 1-2 hours.