The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, Davor Božinović, arrived this morning at the scene of the forest fire that engulfed around 87 hectares of land. Sadly, one firefighter, Goran Komlenac, a member of the Public Fire Department of Dubrovnik and a member of the Voluntary Fire Society of Orašac, died while performing his duty of extinguishing the fire near Orašac.

The Deputy Prime Minister was welcomed by Chief Fire Chief of the Croatian Fire Brigade Slavko Tucaković, and the Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, and they visited the fire site together, and expressed their condolences to the family of the fallen firefighter.

Friends and colleagues have been saying goodbye to Goran Komlenac all morning on social networks, they say that such a tragedy has never happened to them before.

Photo - Tonci Plazibat/Cropix

His immediate commander, Stijepko Krilanović, said that he was the most prepared firefighter in the unit. “He regularly competed in the Fire Combat firefighting competition throughout Europe. He was completely devoted to his work and family, he was also the president of our union, he fought for the rights of firefighters.”

Goran Komlenac was a professional firefighter for 21 years and two months, and even before that he fought fires as a member of Voluntary Fire Society of Orašac.