Three firefighters from the Vila Nova da Barquinha brigade, Sónia Melo, Paulo Santos, and Susana Carvalho, who perished in a fire in Tábua in September 2024, along with João Silva from the São Mamede de Infesta Volunteer Firefighters, are to be posthumously awarded the Medal of Merit for Protection and Rescue in gold and distinguished by a blue badge.
The authorization for these commendations by Interior Minister Margarida Blasco was published in the Diário da República on Friday.
“On September 17, 2024, mainland Portugal was beset by numerous rural fires, with several teams deployed in the Coimbra region to combat these blazes, notably near the village of Vila do Mato, in the municipality of Tábua,” the document states.
“One of the teams mobilized belonged to the Vila Nova de Oliveirinha Volunteer Fire Department and was battling the fire near the left bank of the Mondego River when they were overtaken by the fire’s rapid and complex progression, claiming the lives of three young firefighters,” it adds.
Sónia Melo is described as a “woman of courage, dedication, and a profound spirit of service.” “A nurse by profession and a firefighter by vocation, she served the Vila Nova de Oliveirinha Fire Brigade with commitment and passion. Her dedication to the humanitarian cause made her a reference among colleagues, always ready to help and face any challenge,” it notes.
Paulo Fonseca, the note highlights, “always guided his conduct in favor of community service ideals, with a volunteering spirit, competence, and affability, having won the sympathy, friendship, and respect of his comrades and the citizens who knew, respected, and followed him for his service as a firefighter.”
Also from the Vila Nova de Oliveirinha brigade, Susana Carvalho “always stood out for her simplicity, friendliness, and selflessness,” with volunteering “being not just a function, but a true vocation performed with pride and professionalism, participating in both firefighting operations and other emergencies.”
João Silva, an operative from the São Mamede de Infesta Fire Department, died on September 15 from sudden death during a meal break while fighting a blaze in the parish of Pinheiro da Bemposta, Oliveira de Azeméis, in Aveiro District. Despite being attended to on-site by a team from the National Institute of Medical Emergency, he did not survive.
The dispatch emphasizes that “he consistently adhered to exemplary, dedicated, responsible, and competent conduct during the nineteen years, five months, and eight days of his service, where he always employed impeccable professional conduct.”
