Fire Marshal Mark

I want to tell you a story. For the better part of my five months here, I have picked up a new hobby. Putting out fires. You see, I noticed that it is not uncommon for trash cans to be ablaze here in Bulgaria. It really was strange. You would be walking by a trash can (or dumpster for that matter) and, odds are, that is was on fire. My theory was that people just threw cigarettes in there to spark the flames. It makes sense, really. People smoke unreal amounts of the things here. So, I decided that I would take matters into my own hands. When I saw a fire, I bought bottled water and put it out. I was happy with my efforts. This was one of those little actions that could cause a change in my community. A quick and easy way to say, ‘Hey guys, come on, don’t throw your lit cigarette butts into the trash. Don’t you see what happens?’ So, on I went. I would estimate my daily fire fighting activities at one to two trash cans a day. I was on a roll. Never mind that people were staring at me. The point was for people to notice what I was doing and stop the fire madness.

Here is the catch. They hire people to light those fires. They just burn their trash. Every one does it. So, the garbage collectors just pick up the ashes. (I guess they were not happy when they found wet garbage) I am not sure if burning your garbage on purpose is any better than doing it by accident but, I am not ready to argue environmental concerns in Bulgarian. I just hope no one asks me about this later.

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