OREANDA-NEWS. August 13, 2015. RUSBURMASH has rendered assistance to the authorities of the Bauntovsky District, Republic of Buryatia, by providing the equipment to fight forest fires.

Employees from the Drill Site No. 3 Autonomous Structural Subdivision of RUSBURMASH were among the first ones who came forward with the initiative to provide necessary resources. Both people and machines rallied to the protection against advancing fires. For example, an all-terrain vehicle was used to transport water, while a bulldozer was involved in building up a protective barrier that kept the fire from spreading further.

For over a fortnight, RUSBURMASH employees, Anatoly Ryzhov and Sergey Vedernikov, participated in the fire-fighting operations after they had taken over the watch from their colleagues, Mikhail Sitnikov and Andrey Samokhvalov. The employees say that they had to work for ten to twelve hours a day under very uneasy conditions. “In case of breakdowns the equipment was repaired in the field. There was no time for rest or reflections. Sometimes, a single wind blow set the forest area ablaze with tongues of flame. Flame raged in just a kilometre from JSC Khiagda’s industrial facilities; however, joint efforts undertaken by the Emergency Ministry staff, the forestry and our guys made it possible to localise the fire,” Aleksey Gavrilov, a drill site mechanic, explained.

The help rendered by RUSBURMASH personnel was appreciated both in the company and the Administration of the Bauntovsky Evenki District that came up with a proposal to award the heroes.

Meanwhile, fire hazard is still high in forested areas of the Republic of Buryatia. Tens of reports on new fire outbreaks came in on a daily basis.

Total area affected by wildfires has exceeded 100,000 hectares. In some areas, fire is approaching populated settlements.