Guarda City Council distributes more than 500 thousand euros for surveillance, prevention and fighting of rural fires

The Humanitarian Associations of Volunteer Firefighters of Guarda , Gonçalo and Famalicão da Serra and the Forest Firefighting teams of the municipality will receive more than 500 thousand euros of financial support from the Guarda Council, for the surveillance, prevention and fighting of rural fires. These entities received, on June 11th, the first tranche corresponding to 50% of the total amount.

Also in this context, Partnership Protocols were signed with AcriGuarda, the Associação Floresta Viva de Fernão Joanes, the team of forest firefighters from the Valhelhas Parish Council and, for the first time, with JuveBombeiro from the Guarda district, with a view to promoting education for civil protection among young people and encouraging volunteering and active citizenship.

The operational resources of the three volunteer fire brigades in the municipality, the four forest firefighting teams and the municipal firefighting team were on display at Alameda de Santo André. Representatives of key institutions such as the GNR, GNR-UEPS, ANEPC, PSP, ICNF, APAL-SIM, the District Firefighters Federation and other entities were also present.

The Mayor of Guarda said that “over the last four years, the Municipality of Guarda has channelled around 500 thousand euros from its own budget in direct support to parishes, intended for the acquisition of equipment and vehicles for fire prevention”. Sérgio Costa added that this investment served to reinforce “the local response capacity” and to give substance to “a true policy of territorial cohesion and decentralised civil protection, which allows a more effective response” to the populations.

With regard to the municipality's Volunteer Firefighters, this year the local authority increased ordinary support, with a percentage growth of around 6% compared to the previous year “to the total value of around 111,535.50 euros, responding to the growing needs for operation, fuel, training and communications”.

Sérgio Costa said that “an annual sum of 100 thousand euros was allocated for extraordinary support for the acquisition of protection and rescue equipment”, allowing the acquisition of a vehicle for the Gonçalo Volunteer Firefighters, the acquisition of Operational Equipment for Fighting Structural Fires for the Famalicão Volunteer Firefighters, and for the Guarda Volunteer Firefighters the acquisition of Personal Protective Equipment for Extrication and Fighting Urban Fires Operations and for the transformation of an All-Terrain Ambulance for Incidents on the Mondego Walkways”.

He said that the local authority continues to guarantee “the financing of the eight Permanent Intervention Teams (EIP), in a huge municipal budgetary effort that exceeds 400 thousand euros per year”.

At the ceremony, the Guarda City Council presented the new Coordination and Communications Vehicle, “a modern command vehicle that will strengthen coordination on the ground between the various protection forces, improve the flow of information and communication in critical situations and provide a more effective response to the population”. This vehicle will be available to serve the 3 volunteer fire brigades.

At the end of the session, which took place at Alameda de Santo André, there was a visit to the volunteer firefighters and forest firefighters, security forces and parish councils present.

Before the ceremony, a municipal meeting took place at the Eduardo Lourenço Municipal Library with all the forces belonging to the fire prevention system in the municipality of Guarda.