Firefighters’ league President calls for resignation of Civil Protection bosses in Portugal
Iain Hoey
Share this content
Portugal’s Civil Protection leadership under scrutiny
The president of Portugal’s Firefighters’ League (LBP), António Nunes, has urged the resignation of Civil Protection leaders due to what he described as their “manifest inability to organise the system.”
As reported by PortugalResident.com, Nunes spoke before MPs on the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, criticising the leadership at ANEPC, the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority.
He stated: “The abandonment and lack of coherence of the ANEPC, and also of the National Directorate of Firefighters, leaves us with the conviction that those in charge should have left their posts a long time ago, due to their clear inability to establish partnerships and create integration processes with a view to providing the Portuguese with a better organised, more resilient and capable system.”
The hearing, requested by the right-wing party CHEGA, aimed to discuss the ‘expectations and difficulties of volunteer firefighters associations with the start of the fire season.’ Nunes pointed out that ANEPC has failed to adequately protect firefighters.
Financial and operational concerns
Nunes highlighted specific concerns regarding the financial and operational directives of the ANEPC.
He cited the most recent example of non-payment at the end of June of permanent funding to firefighting associations in amounts approved in the State Budget for this year.
“The proposals put forward by the ANEPC for firefighters within the scope of the forest firefighting system are unacceptable, both from the point of view of the financial directive and from the point of view of operations, administration and logistics,” Nunes said.
He called on parliament and the government to stop the “attempts at hegemonic domination by ANEPC and AGIF” (Agency for the Integrated Management of Rural Fires), warning that their current doctrine for fighting forest fires is “inadequate and dangerous for the safety of the population and their property.”
Long-term availability concerns
Nunes also expressed concerns about the long-term availability of firefighters.
He warned that climate change has amplified risks and vulnerabilities, potentially compromising the robustness of responses to forest fires and other emergencies.
“In the short and/or medium term, firefighters may not have the necessary availability for a robust response to forest fires and other risks and vulnerabilities, which have been powered by climate change,” Nunes emphasised.
He called for immediate and effective action to address these issues to ensure the safety and resilience of the system.