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A deadly wildfire in Seyitgazi, Türkiye that killed 10 forestry workers was the result of a lack of training and institutional expertise, a senior union leader has claimed.
The accusation was made by Yusuf Kurt, president of the Agriculture and Forestry Workers Union (Tarim Orman-Is), who said unqualified personnel were deployed to the scene, while experienced staff had been reassigned due to internal rotation policies.
Kurt criticized the practice of assigning staff who had never responded to wildfires before, simply as part of internal rotation policies.
“Fire has no school, but the institution used to train its own staff through in-house training centers,” he said.
“Now those centers are being shut down. Sending untrained personnel into active fires leads to fatal consequences.”
Emphasizing the complexity of fire management, Kurt warned that theoretical knowledge is not enough.
“Fire has a language. If you cannot read it, you cannot control it,” he said. “You need to listen to the wind, humidity, and topography. Identifying escape routes before engaging is critical.”
Kurt also underlined the risks of climate change, saying that fires now spread faster due to shifting wind patterns and lower humidity levels, which require faster and more skilled responses.
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