Member of Parliament Mudar al-Karawi explained the reasons for the rise in "fire incidents" in Iraq. In an interview with "Baghdad Today," al-Karawi stated that "the rate of fires during the Iraqi summer seasons increases by up to 50% or more due to three main reasons: the lack of engagement from business owners and commercial sectors, including homes, with public safety principles; the danger of fluctuating electrical currents, which directly leads to 40% of fires."
He added that "70-80% of shops, companies, and other sectors, including warehouses, do not adhere to public safety conditions that ensure fire prevention or at least minimize them." He noted that "firefighting teams are on constant alert."
He pointed out that "80% of agricultural field fires are due to negligence and lack of compliance with safety conditions announced by civil defense teams," explaining that "some might be premeditated, but they remain within a very limited scope compared to other causes."
According to "Baghdad Today," which tracked global fire alerts, the total number of fire alerts exceeded 18,700 in the first four months of this year, while the same period last year recorded a total of 15,000 fires. Severe fire alerts from the beginning of this year until April 15 amounted to more than 2,400 fires, compared to around 2,650 fires during the same period last year.
This indicates an increase of 24% in the total number of fires at various levels (both large and small), while the number of large fires has decreased by 10% compared to last year.
