SUMMARY. A comprehensive survey is made of the problem of fire disasters in Russia in recent years and of the measures to prevent them, particular reference being made to disasters in nuclear plants. Various statistics are given in relation to industrial, domestic and forest fires. The need of effective legislation is emphasized. A description is given of the IL-76 TP fire-fighting aircraft. The organization of immediate medical aid is considered, particularly with regard to the pipeline explosion at Ufa, which also involved two passing trains. The problems presented by nuclear plants are considered and the latest security precautions are described.

Fire disasters are among the most important factors that destabilize economic and social development.
First of all some figures. During the last five years nearly 200,000 buildings in Russia have been destroyed by fire. Their total area exceeds 13,000,000 in 2, including nearly 10,000,000 M2 of dwellings.
Great damage is also inflicted by forest fires. Millions of hectares of forest are destroyed by fire. For instance, in ten days in August 1992 up to 300 forest fires occurred every day, some of them covering a territory of 3,000 hectares. In the central part of Russia alone, 9,000 people equipped with 1300 units of fire - extingui s hing material were engaged in forest fire-fighting.
The number of industrial fires is also increasing, with more and more serious consequences. The statistics of the first quarter of the current year (1992) show the following: total number of registered fires 67,643; cost of damage 200 million roubles; deaths 2,738. Compared with the same period of 1991, the number of fires increased by 3.4%, material losses 2.4 times, and fatalities by 8.4%. During the above-mentioned timeperiod there were six fire disasters killing more than five persons at once (five of them in 199 1).
The causes of fires are various. More than 75% of forest fires are due to human fault (careless handling of fire). Fires in dwellings and other non-industrial buildings are mainly caused by careless handling of fire, misuse of heating devices, defects in the electricity supply network, children's pranks and sometimes arson.
The explanation for the increased number of industrial fires is the use, in construction, of flammable materials, the wide application of new fire-dangerous technologies, and the shortage of automatic fire-fighting devices, fire- extinguishing means and warning systems.
There is also a lack of legislation on industrial security in Russia. A genuine system of laws determining economic sanctions for the damage inflicted is still to be developed. In order to prevent and combat fire disasters the relevant organizational, technical and medical measures are being elaborated and implemented in Russia, on the basis of the formation of socio-economic and judicial mechanisms for ensuring security for the population and the environment in emergency situations.
Among these one of the most significant is our latest new sample of fire-extinguishing machinery. A new fire-fighting IL-76 TP aircraft has recently been constructed in Russia. It is designed to extinguish forest fires, to restrict them by setting up barrier bands, and to deliver and parachute down teams of firemen with their equipment.
The aircraft is capable of pouring down 44 tons of fire-extinguishing substance in 6 sec., covering an area 500 m long and 100 m wide. It is irreplaceable in combating complicated fires like those in military ammunition depots. Unfortunately, disasters of this kind also happen in the former USSR. The explosion of shells makes the use of surface fire-fighting means impossible. Our fire-fighting aircraft was recently tested in action in the fire disaster at ammunition depots in Armenia in April 1992.
We are ready for international cooperation in the use of our fire-fighting IL-76 TP aircraft.
The experience of other countries in fighting fire disasters, and the approaches to the matter from the point of view of international and national law are vitally important for us.
A major outstanding problem in Russia continues to be the organization of first aid and urgent medical aid, especially when the number of injured is considerable. An example of this, which has already become an academic model, is the disaster caused by the explosion of a pipeline in the Ufa area on 4 June 1989. The explosion struck two trains passing near the pipeline. Of the 1500 passengers in the trains 1220 were affected, 806 being hospitalized. More than 97% of the patients were burned. The burns affected the airways, the upper and lower limbs, and the faces and hands.
In this disaster the arrival of medical help was not sufficiently prompt. Anti-shock therapy started only 6 hours after the event. This reduced the effectiveness of treatment and aggravated the consequences of the disaster. If specialized health teams had reached the disaster area earlier and the injured had been hospitalized more promptly, more patients would have survived.
Taking into consideration that the specialized health teams based in big cities as a rule cannot reach the place of a disaster in less than 4 hours, the main role in immediate medical aid is the responsibility of the local health authority including ambulance services, urgent medical aid and general purpose hospitals. On this level it is necessary to set up mobile and fully equipped medical teams. The most rapid and mobile medical service is the service of urgent help provided by ambulances. This can become the base for the setting up of disaster health teams.
Fire disasters have shown that preparedness of the general population is very important.
We are currently involved in development of the Russian System of Disaster Management (RSDM), which would set up a mechanism of governmental coordination of all rescue teams and services engaged in disaster relief operations. We are sure that the most important principle of disaster management is the priority of medical aid.
The theory and practical experience of disaster management shows that the most acute problems are caused by fires followed by nuclear catastrophes. Experience of the operation of nuclear plants shows that fires there usually do not result in breakdown of the reactor. But fires at Chernobyl-type (RBMK) nuclear plants are a major danger. Among nuclear fire disasters the Chernobyl catastrophe is a special case. The development of the disaster resulted in numerous fires all over the plant and the firemen had to act under the influence of radiation. In is clear that such fires aggravated the conditions of the response operations and caused losses among the firemen.
The most characteristic violations of anti-fire security norms for nuclear plants are bad maintenance of buildings (26.3%) and breakdowns in the electric supply system (24.7%).
A comparison of the projected level of fire security in nuclear plants with that in the RBMK reactor shows that only the latest designs meet the necessary requirements. There are still however certain elements of major vulnerability, e.g. roofing, cable insulation, etc. After the Chernobyl accident additional steps were undertaken to improve fire security.
The problem of graphite flammability (as in the Chernobyl reactor) is being solved within the framework of the enhancement of general security in nuclear plants. This includes the reinforcement of security control systems in order to prevent all possibility of a nuclear reaction in the initial phase of automatic protection, which will be improved in view of the possibility of graphite fire at a temperature of 800 'C.
It is important to increase the fire resistance of the steel framework of the building and that of reactor cooling pipelines. The experience of nuclear plant operation shows that fires do not normally result in the breakdown of the reactor. They are normally extinguished in time. The Chernobyl catastrophe is a lamentable exception.
The problem of the prevention of fire disasters and of the necessary response is therefore an acute issue in Russia. It demands a comprehensive solution based on worldwide experience.

RESUME. Cet article nous propose une vue d'ensemble du problème des désastres d'incendie qui se sont produits en Russie pendant les dernières anées et des mesures pour les éviter, avec attention particulière pour les accidents dans les centres nucléaires. L'auteur présente des statistiques pour ce qui concerne les incendies industriels, domestiques et des forêts et souligne l'importance d'une législation efficace. Après une description de l'avion anti-incendie IL-76 TP, il prend en considération l'organisation des secours médicaux immédiats, surtout relativement à l'explosion du pipeline à Ufa, qui a aussi eu des conséquences pour deux trains qui passaient. En conclusion, l'auteur examine les problèmes présentés par les centres nucléaires et il décrit les plus récentes précautions de sécurité.