OREANDA-NEWS. October 3, 2011. Dmitry Medvedev announced that he had signed the Executive Order concerning the creation of the Emergency Situations Ministry’s rescue units on the basis of civil defence troops. The document set forth the status, structure and composition of these units. 

During the meeting, Sergei Shoigu briefed the President on the ministry’s work to fight wildfires. According to Mr Shoigu, in preparing for the fire season, 450 thousand people have been organised into fire-fighting squads (including members of volunteer fire brigades) and 62 thousand units of equipment have been made available, including more than one hundred helicopters with fire-extinguishing equipment and five Il-76 aircraft. Il-76 tanker planes are the biggest in the world, capable of carrying up to 40 tonnes of water. In 2011, approximately four thousand communities were successfully protected from fires.