Tetovo Fire Showcases Macedonian Aerial Firefighting Capacity Story by Igor Bozinovski Photos by Dragan Cvetic
The 2022 summer fire season opened in Macedonia in a rather unexpected way. On May 30th, 2022, the most significant fire this year erupted not in a forest but in downtown Tetovo, Macedonia. A large fire broke out Monday morning, engulfing the former Makedonija Tabak factory, producing an enormous amount of smoke covering the city and parts of the Polog Valley, located in the north-western part of Macedonia. The initial response to the fire included a Macedonian Police Helicopter Unit first on the scene, executing the unit’s first real-world aerial firefighting operation. The Unit’s AgustaBell Agusta Bell 212 utility helicopter, utilizing the newlyacquired 1,000-liter/265 Gallon capacity IMS New Zealand produced Cloudburst Fire Bucket that executed 28 drops of water on the burning factory. The 212 retrieved water from a private pool in the village of Sarakjino, some 6km southeast of Tetovo. AF 48 | aerialfiremag.com
Due to the severity of the blaze, the Police 212 utilized hot refueling at the nearby Tetovo military barracks, spending as little time as possible away from the intense fire. The Macedonian Police helicopter was also joined by a Macedonian Air Force Mi-8MT helicopter to assist, executing eight salvo’s, dropping 2,500 liters/660 US Gallons utilizing their SEI Industries Bambi Bucket multiple-drop underslung system. Unlike the police helicopter, the army helicopters collected water from the Vardar river between the villages Palatica and Siri?ino, some 9.5km east of Tetovo. The fire was finally under control in the early afternoon thanks to the enormous effort of ground firefighting units from Tetovo, Gostivar, Kievo, and Skopje, as well as the involvement of the army and civil protection aviation units.
