ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region is set to acquire specialized firefighting drones from China to help combat blazes in mountainous areas and high-rise buildings, with one drone already tested in Erbil and trials in Sulaimani pending suitable weather conditions.
Aram Ali, spokesperson for Sulaimani Civil Defense, told Rudaw's Zhinar Star on Sunday that the region’s civil defense directorates requested the Ministry of Interior of the Kurdistan Region to provide drones and firefighting balloons for Sulaimani.
A Kurdistan delegation of representatives from the Sulaimani Civil Defense andother provinces in the region visited China to undergo training on a specific type of firefighting drone, bringing back “a type of drone from China specialized for assisting in extinguishing fires in mountainous areas and high-rise buildings, which is currently used in many countries.”
“The drone has already been tested in Erbil province,” he said.
Wildfires are common across the Kurdistan Region during the hot and dry summer months, when high temperatures, strong winds and dry vegetation can cause fires to spread rapidly.
Last week, firefighting crews battled a blaze near Sulaimani for nearly four hours as strong winds pushed the flames toward nearby villages.
In July, a large wildfire also broke out on Sulaimani’s Goizha Mountain, where dry vegetation and arid conditions fueled the blaze.
The planned deployment of firefighting drones comes as civil defense teams face recurring challenges in reaching fires in mountainous and hard-to-access areas.
The drone has not yet been tested in Sulaimani because of the province’s weather conditions, particularly strong winds that can affect its operation, Ali said, pending suitable weather conditions.
Despite the drone having so far been tested only in Erbil, Ali said Erbil, Sulaimani and Duhok are each expected to receive one firefighting drone. The Region also plans to acquire firefighting balloons in a subsequent phase.
However, questions remain over whether the equipment can operate effectively in Sulaimani’s mountainous terrain.
“We still do not know the full operational mechanism of the drone, as we are uncertain if it can fly in the harsh weather conditions of the Goizha and Azmar mountains to assist firefighting teams,” Ali said.
Halabja Civil Defense, meanwhile, said it had requested advanced firefighting equipment but was not aware of plans to provide the province with drones.
“We have requested the Ministry of Interior and the Kurdistan Regional Government to provide us with any advanced equipment used for firefighting,” Zanyar Omar, spokesperson for Halabja Civil Defense, told Rudaw on Sunday.
“However, we were neither aware of a delegation visiting China to bring drones, nor are we aware of any plans to provide firefighting drones for Halabja,” he added.
