A massive fire in Pombal, Leiria District, two decades ago prompted the establishment of a volunteer brigade in the parish of Carnide, now known as the local civil protection unit (ULPC).
Reflecting on the first week of August 2005, then-Carnide Parish President Eusébio Rodrigues recalled leaving the parish in the morning and returning to a scene entirely transformed by fire, with everything burned on both sides and more still ablaze.
“I thought it was the end of the world,” remarked Eusébio Rodrigues, 57, who served as president of Carnide Parish from 2001 to 2013, located about twelve kilometers from the municipal seat.
The former official recalled how the fire began in one parish and spread throughout others.
In Carnide, where 50% to 60% of the parish was affected, residents sought refuge in the church, three primary residences were destroyed, and local festivities were canceled.
What actions did the local government take?
In response to the lessons learned from the fire, the immediate creation of a brigade, now the local civil protection unit, was initiated by Eusébio Rodrigues.
“We understood that early intervention was crucial in tackling fires,” he explained.
The parish council purchased a vehicle, funded through raffles, and received donations from residents, businesses, and entities. The Pombal Municipality provided a ‘kit’ including a 500-liter water tank.
“It’s only 500 liters, just five minutes, but those first five minutes can be critical,” he noted.
Volunteers soon joined in large numbers, and by the following summer, a permanent 24/7 surveillance team was established.
Such was the scare in August 2005 that an additional vehicle equipped with a 1,000-liter tank was also outfitted by the council.
Eusébio Rodrigues emphasized that the creation of the volunteer brigade, later termed the ULPC, aids in protecting the parish but requires coordination.
“They are crucial at the beginning and ending phases of a fire,” he observed.
“People were coming to the station wanting to help,” expressed Nelson Pereira, 48, a firefighter for 33 years with the Pombal brigade who worked tirelessly against the inferno that engulfed the entire municipality except for the city.
Pereira admitted this might have been the worst fire he ever battled, as there were multiple simultaneous hotspots and not enough firefighters to cover them all. One night, five civilians joined one of the fire engines.
“We simply ran out of firefighters, and people came to the station wanting to assist,” recalled Nelson Pereira, president of Pelariga Parish, soon concluding his third term in October.
During the firefight, he recounted a chilling moment in Carnide when he had to rescue a fire crew with an ambulance surrounded by flames. Everyone was saved.
In the same parish, panic rose when a couple couldn’t find their granddaughter at home, only to later discover she was safe with another relative.
Pereira shared his frustration when they couldn’t save an outhouse with animals adjacent to an undamaged house.
“Even if you save a house, you feel somewhat powerless,” he lamented. “If we had arrived five minutes earlier…”
In 2005, over 8,856 hectares or 15% of the 626-square-kilometer municipality, mostly forest and scrubland, burned, according to the Municipal Civil Protection Service.
Pereira, representing parishes in municipal civil protection and forest fire defense committees, highlighted the value of local protection units for surveillance and initial response, advocating for their broader adoption.
“Surveillance and rapid initial response can be crucial in preventing disasters, even though firefighter interventions are swift, sometimes the stations aren’t nearby,” he commented.
The parish president stressed the critical role of parish councils in civil protection and other areas, often underappreciated, excluding municipal administrations from this scenario.
“In a crisis, the parish president should be among the first at the command post. I know my area intimately, the roads, the barriers, yet frequently we are overlooked at the command post,” he noted, suggesting that this aspect should be addressed.
