Atvos is a reference with its fire prevention campaign in sugarcane plantations

The campaign ‘Together for the Community against Fires’, promoted by Atvos’s Santa Luzia Unit (MS), was one of the cases selected and highlighted by the 7th Wildfire – International Conference on Forest Fires promoted by ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation), in conjunction with IBAMA and the Ministry of the Environment, which took place between October 28 and November 1 at the Gil de Camillo Convention Center, in Campo Grande (MS). The conference was attended by managers, authorities, researchers and firefighters of various nationalities with the aim of exchanging knowledge.

The participants of the event were introduced to Atvos’ initiatives in fire prevention and fighting in sugarcane plantations during a practical visit to the Santa Luzia Unit. The demonstration consisted in presentations on how climate monitoring is performed, accompanied by a practical demonstration of fire fighting with liquid retardant, and a demonstration of safety equipment (PPEs and CPEs) and procedures.

Atvos adopts guidelines and protocols for the safety of operations that include a specific procedure (Requirements for Critical Activities – RAC for agricultural fires) for fire prevention and firefighting. The business units have dedicated fire brigades, with members prepared to act in the event of an occurrence. In addition, each harvesting front has its own fire pump truck, with trained firefighters and first responders.

Among the fire prevention practices, the following stand out: clearing of the lanes, carrying out of the firebreaks on the machines before carrying out 100% of the equipment maintenance operations that requires tools with sources of ignition, dry cleaning and daily washing of the harvesters. Permanent monitoring is performed of the temperature of the harvesters’ wheels and environmental variables in order to detect the proximity of the condition called “emergency triangle”.

In addition, the business participates in the Emergency Mutual Assistance Plan (PAM), a group made up of companies, the government and the community to provide integrated assistance in emergency response to fires both in the facilities of the Atvos units and in occurrences in the surrounding regions. Trained personnel, materials and equipment are available for emergency support.

“In the Conference we share the importance of working together with the local community to avoid fires. We raise awareness and guide students, educators and rural producers,” says Leonardo Mendes de Oliveira, responsible for, Health, Safety and the Environment at the unit.

In all, more than 1,800 students and teachers from municipal and state schools participated in the “Together for the community against fires” campaign, eight rural schools had science projects, rural and local producers received information materials with channels to report fires and local and community radio stations received exclusive content from Atvos on the subject.

About 7th Wildfire – International Conference on Forest Fires

The International Conference on Forest Fires took place for the first time in 1989 with the objective of exchanging knowledge among professionals of all nationalities related to fire management and forest fire control. Since then, the event has been held to stimulate the exchange of experiences and knowledge related to forest fires: public policies, research, fire management, etc. Wildfire also seeks to strengthen the skills of each nation to reduce the impacts of forest fires on human life and the environment, in addition to discussing the ecological and environmental benefits of fire in dependent or tolerant areas and its controlled use for agrosilvipastoral purposes. ICMBio, together with IBAMA and MMA, is an integral part of the organizing committee of this edition of the Conference, as established by Ordinance No. 409 of October 27, 2017.