Fire and Earthquake Symposium Held in Izmir

The Internationally Attended Fire and Earthquake Symposium and Exhibition, organized by TMMOB Chamber of Mechanical Engineers Izmir Branch, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department and Chambers affiliated with TMMOB, was held in Tepekule Convention and Exhibition Center on September 30-October 1, 2021.

The event, which was previously held as the Fire Seminar, was organized as the Internationally Attended Fire and Earthquake Symposium and Exhibition following the Izmir earthquake last year. It started with an opening speech by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary General Yıldız Devran. In his speech, Devran said Izmir Metropolitan Municipality always improves itself with the motto, “İzmir, Ready for disasters,” and said, “We have 1300 qualified personnel, 57 fire stations and a fleet of 288 vehicles. They work for the peace of our citizens and protect their lives and property on 24/7 basis. We hope we never experience disasters, but we are prepared.”

Branch Chairman Melih Yalçın gave a speech on behalf of the Chambers affiliated with TMMOB and stated that the Fire Seminars, have which attracted great attention in previous years, have now become a symposium where earthquakes are also discussed in detail.

At the opening event, İsmail Derse, head of the Fire Brigade Department at Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, gave a presentation and speech. At his presentation, Derse stated that firefighters responded to 12,071 fire incidents in 2020, and that the teams also took part at the earthquake that occurred on October 30, 2020, and flooding incidents. He said, “At the earthquake, by responding in approximately 5.58 minutes, our teams reached the standards.” Emphasizing that the Fire Brigade Department is always on call in 30 districts, Derse said, “Uninterrupted firefighting, search and rescue operations, traffic accidents and flood rescue operations, fire training, and fire inspection and prevention services are offered at 55 fire brigade and forest watch spots.”

After the speeches, two sessions were held on each title. The symposium drew 581 attendees, who saw 29 presentations about fire and 14 presentations about earthquakes, in addition to a panel, in two days. An exhibition organized in line with the symposium was also attended by many people.