43-year-old Serkan Topkaya, who served as a bulldozer operator at the İzmir Forestry Regional Directorate, set out to return to his duty station in Kemalpaşa with the vehicle he was using after a fire broke out in the Bayındır district and was brought under control during the night.
Topkaya lost his life on the scene as his bulldozer overturned for reasons yet to be determined.
Forestry General Manager Bekir Karacabey posted on his social media account, saying “Our colleague Serkan Topkaya had an accident and became a martyr. May God have mercy on our martyr, and we extend our condolences to his family, loved ones, and colleagues. May our organization be strong.”
“We are one of the institutions in our country that has suffered the most martyrs after our security forces.”
A ceremony was held at the İzmir Forestry Regional Directorate courtyard for Serkan Topkaya.
Speaking at the ceremony attended by Topkaya’s wife Fatma, children Abdülsamet and Esma, mother Fadime, and father Resul Topkaya, Governor Süleyman Elban said that the forestry organization is working selflessly and that Topkaya became a martyr in this cause.
Elban expressed his condolences to the family and wished them patience.
Deputy Director General of Forestry İbrahim Yüzer said that they had lost their 140th martyr in the struggle against forest fires together with Topkaya.
Yüzer said, “Today, as Forestry General Directorate, we will bid farewell to our 140th forest martyr. We are one of the institutions in our country that has suffered the most martyrs after our security forces. Ideally, we would not want to lose any of these martyrs, and we would not want forest fires to occur. However, climate change and increasing temperatures are increasing the risk of forest fires every day. We witness dozens of fires every day. Our most important task here is to focus more on factors preventing the ignition of these fires. Our brother Serkan Topkaya intervened in the fire in Bayındır the previous day, ensuring it did not spread to the forest, and after neutralizing the fire, returned to his duty station. Unfortunately, he became a martyr. May God have mercy on him.”
Mayor Cemil Tugay of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality also attended the ceremony where Governor Elban gave the martyr’s relatives the Quran and the Turkish flag.
During the moment of asking forgiveness, the family embraced the coffin of Topkaya and shed tears.
Serkan Topkaya’s funeral will be buried in the Cennetbahçe Cemetery after the funeral prayer to be held in Rabia Hatun Mosque in Kemalpaşa at the afternoon prayer time.
Following the fire last night in the olive grove area in Buruncuk Neighborhood in Bayındır district, teams from the İzmir Forestry Regional Directorate were directed; a neighborhood was evacuated as a precaution, and the fire was brought under control.
