Fire prevention campaign 2024: Mayor Basile’s ordinance

The mayor Federico Basile and the councilor for civil protection Massimiliano Minutoli, today at Palazzo Zanca during a press conference, illustrated the prevention measures against forest fires and interfaces established with union ordinance no. 64 of last 13 April 2024. The meeting with the press was attended by the head of the Messina forest departmental inspectorate Giovanni Cavallaro, the manager of the regional civil protection service for the province of Messina Bruno Manfrè, the commander of the Municipal police Giovanni Giardina, the municipal expert in the branch Antonio Rizzo and representatives of the voluntary civil protection and environmentalist associations. The event was an opportunity to learn more about and raise awareness among citizens about the adoption of behaviors aimed at preventing situations of potential risk of starting fires, explaining the rules to follow in the event of sightings of fires, in order to mitigate the risk in the area in view of the summer season.

“The Municipality of Messina – explained Mayor Basile – is always at the forefront in the promotional campaign on good practices and behaviors to adopt to form an aware and ready citizenry. We must all be sentinels of our territory. Greater controls on the territory generate a lower incidence of fires and on this assumption it is essential to plan activities to combat the risk of fires in the Messina area and in particular to expose the prevention measures adopted against forest and interface fires and the actions to be put into practice for a timely intervention of the specialized personnel at the fire site”.

“This year – continued councilor Minutoli – the Sicily Region has brought forward the preparation of the ordinances containing the measures to prevent and fight forest and interface fires to May 15th. The Municipality of Messina has further anticipated the times with the union ordinance in order to launch a series of interventions necessary to mitigate the risk on our territory, in agreement with the Sicilian Region and the Forestry Corps. Following provision no. 1078 relating to 2023 I remind you that it is possible to submit applications for compensation, following the serious fires last year, with the land in good condition”.

The engineer. Manfrè underlined “how there is still imprudence and recklessness, which must be countered with careful and vigilant behaviour”, while the manager Cavallaro highlighted that “a fire originates from a match, which goes out with a blow. The intervention times are therefore fundamentals”.

Commander Giardina illustrated the contents of the administrative and criminal sanctions for violators of the prohibitions and the expert Rizzo outlined the fundamental points of ordinance no. 64 issued last April 13th.

Mayor Basile, in the provision, established an absolute ban in the period between 15 May and 31 October 2024, near woods, uncultivated and/or bushy land and in agricultural land, within the entire municipal territory. to: 1) leave waste or herbaceous residues piled up near woods or uncultivated and/or bushy land; 2) light fires, explode mines, use open flame or electric devices to cut metals; 3) use incinerator stove motors that produce sparks or embers; 4) smoking and throwing cigarette butts from vehicles traveling on the roads or carrying out any other operation that could create an immediate fire risk; 5) use fireworks, on the occasion of holidays and solemnities, in areas other than those specifically identified; 6) burn stubble, herbaceous material, brushwood, pruning and gardening residues or use flammable substances in the aforementioned areas; 7) carry out any operation that could create an immediate fire hazard.

The Mayor also invites citizens, in the event of sighting a fire, to promptly notify one of the telephone numbers indicated below: