HNS SAYS STATE RESPONSIBLE FOR INADEQUATE FIRE PREVENTION

ZAGREB, Aug 22 (Hina) - "The state is the primary culprit for inadequate fire prevention because it is inert in amending laws which are out of date," Stanko Vovk of the ZOP fire prevention company said on Friday. #L# "The government is now concerned about fires, even thought I have been saying for the past ten or 15 years that laws need to be changed," Vovk told a press conference organised by the Croatian People's Party (HNS). He added the government had not yet said what level of fire prevention it wanted. Forty percent of municipalities and towns have still not assessed the danger of fires or drawn up a plan for fire prevention, although the deadline was the year 1994, he said. Asked if the government was correct in saying local self-government units were responsible, Vovk said he absolutely disagreed, because towns, and particularly municipalities, lacked funds. Vovk said that failure to implement preventive measures against fires in state-owned forests was not being adequately punished. (hina) lml