News
Mevlüt Uysal celebrated the firefighters who won 24 gold, 39 silver and 22 bronze medals in the 13th World Firefighters Games held in Chungju, South Korea between September 10th and 17th, 2018. Hasan Karakaş, European Side Fire Brigade Manager, presented the trophy won in the games held in Korea and the stamps commemorating the championship to Mr. Uysal. The firefighters who successfully represented Turkey have been awarded Cumhuriyet gold coins and certificates.
Mayor Uysal, speaking at the award ceremony held at the IMM Saraçhane Building, said, "we are proud of our firefighters who are always at the service of Istanbulites and came back from South Korea with many prizes. I would like to congratulate them all on this Firefighters Week."
Giving Weight to the Usage of Domestic and National Vehicles
Mayor Mevlüt Uysal stated that the IMM has been offering all kinds of support for the fire brigade and said, "Because we entrust our property to the fire department. In this sense, while we maintain the success in the fire department we are also focused on using the domestic and national vehicles and materials. Currently, we are using domestic fireproof clothes, water reinforcement tools, and ladders. I can proudly say that our software is also domestic. We already have domestic vehicles. And the purchase of domestic and national vehicles will be accelerated. With a new move, we will also work on the domesticity of all the tools, equipment, machinery, and machinery needed. This way, we will keep our world-leading position with domestic and national vehicles."
"We Have One of the Best"
The Mayor said the 304-year-old fire department is the oldest rescue service organization of Turkey. Stating that Istanbul fire department is in the top three in the world, the Mayor said: “As of today, we have 3911 personnel, 861 vehicles, and 120 stations. We are responding with an average of 5 minutes and 28 seconds. Last year, there were 127 thousand 284 denunciations and 4 thousand 740 drowning cases were intervened. In this way, compared to the world in our opinion, we have the most successful fire department that is accepted as one of the top three in the world."
So Fast in Response
Mr. Uysal underlined the success of the Istanbul Fire Brigade when compared to the world's major metropolises considering the number of personnel and the area of the city. He said, "New York has an average of 132 firefighters per 100,000 people in an area about 850 square kilometers where the response time is 4 minutes and 40 seconds. And Looking at London, we see that the response time is 5 minutes and 28 seconds there. They have 68 personnel per 100 thousand people. In Tokyo, there is 48 personnel per 100 thousand people. Since Tokyo has a wide area the response time is over 7 minutes. As for us; with 26 personnel per 100 thousand people in an area of 5500 square kilometers and a modest budget, the response time is 5 minutes and 28 seconds. Even though we have twice the population and triple the surface area of London, we are at the top of the fire response time. That is really admirable compared to the world's fire brigades."
Athletes Won the Most Medal
Stressing that Istanbul firefighters team has always been successful in European and World Championships, he said "From time to time, we see critical speeches and news about the fire brigade, but the facts prove the opposite. Our firefighters are always back with good results from World and European Championships. This year they attended the World Firefighters Games in Korea with a team of 33 people. In the end, among 6 thousand 750 firefighters from 50 countries, our firefighters returned with a total of 85 medals including 24 gold, 39 silver, and 22 bronze. Even though we are sixth in terms of the number of medals, considering that South Korea joined with 5400 and Hongkong with 262 firefighters, we became the first in terms of medals per athlete. We will continue to use every means available to support these successful gentlemen that we are proud of. Happy anniversary of our Istanbul Fire Brigade who has always been struggling with no fear even in the most difficult times."
