Bulgaria has seen fewer fires this year, and the area of forest burned is six times smaller than last year, interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said as he opened a new training centre for firefighters and rescue workers near the village of Pokrovnik, in Blagoevgrad municipality.

Crews recorded nearly 14,500 fires during the 2025 season, 3,000 fewer than this year's total. Incidents overall are down by nearly 21%.

Large fires — those burning over 30 hectares — have fallen by more than 55%, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). Last year there were 92; this year there are 41.

Demerdzhiev thanked the crews. "This is the result of our efforts, your efforts, everything you gave," he said.

The improvement isn't down to the weather, he said, since the summer was tough, with serious heat. He pointed to several reasons: the new political leadership has worked on the issue since day one, the Fire Safety and Civil Protection agency has responded on time, and fire crews have been sent out beyond towns and villages, right to the fire sites. Drones spotted fires early, and the defence ministry helped put out many of them using equipped helicopters.

The response to fires this year has been "far more decisive and far more effective," Demerdzhiev said.

Climate change is driving extreme weather, he said, and in Bulgaria that mainly means fires and floods. These are becoming more frequent, so the minister says crews need better training, more equipment and closer teamwork between agencies, both to prevent fires and to fight them.

The new centre will train Bulgarian firefighters and rescue workers, along with staff from Greece and Serbia, who will share their experience.

Asked whether Bulgaria will soon have aircraft built specifically for fighting fires, to back up ground crews, Demerdzhiev said work on this is under way. The goal, he said, is for the state to have its own aircraft and use them regularly.