Skopje, 27 March 2025 (MIA) – Most schools in the country have firefighting equipment, but some schools need to renew it for which efforts are being made, Education Minister Vesna Janevska said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, she clarified that all schools have firefighting equipment adding that some schools outside of Skopje haven’t had the equipment checked, although it is their obligation to do it once a year.

According to her, fire hydrant hoses need also to be checked. “Checks are under way for which the municipalities play the main role because it is the duty of local authorities according to the decentralization process,” Janevska said when asked whether fire hydrants and firefighting devices are functioning in the elementary and high schools in the country.

Responding to a reporter’s question during a visit to an elementary school in Skopje’s Kisela Voda municipality, she said drills and trainings will be organized in schools in the wake of the nighclub fire in Kochani.

“The German embassy has offered to help [the organization], we will accept it of course. The organization is under way. We should train teachers first to know how to handle a crisis before the students attend drills and trainings. The process is under way and it will only conclude once they are organized all over the country,” stated Janevska.

Photo: MIA