RIGA, Oct 24 (LETA) - Fire station closures in the regions carry much greater risks than in towns and cities, Ventspils Region Council Chairman Aivars Mucenieks (Latvian Farmers' Union) told LETA.

Any fire station located as close as possible to residents' properties is very important, and the municipality strongly opposes reducing the number of fire stations in rural areas.

Furthermore, residential buildings in the regions mostly use firewood for heating, which in itself is a higher fire risk, and many buildings are old and their heating equipment is worn out, said Mucenieks. Piltene is a 30-minute drive from Ventspils, he pointed out. "There are no other alternatives, there is no volunteer fire department in the territory of the municipality, and even if local residents were ready to get involved, there is no technical support," said Mucenieks.

As reported, the State Fire and Rescue Service will temporarily suspend operation of 18 less busy fire stations until the end of the year, as the service's chief Oskars Abolins told reporters on Thursday.

The Fire and Rescue Service will suspend operations of fire stations in Roja, Sabile, Piltene, Alsunga, Jaunjelgava, Nereta, Eleja, Akniste, Viesite, Auce, Bulduri, Baldone, Cesvaine, Varaklani, Mazsalaca, Strenci, Zilupe and Tilza, said Abolins.

Firefighters working at these fire stations will not be laid off but transferred to other structural units of the Fire and Rescue Service. The service will make every effort to ensure transportation to the new service locations for employees at said fire stations.

The Fire and Rescue Service will try to minimize the impact of the temporarily closure of the 18 fire stations on other fire stations' response times.

Some fire stations could be closed again next year, but this will depend on financing available to the Fire and Rescue Service.