According to the LBP, by August 13, 231 firefighters were injured in service. During this period, the league recorded the death of a volunteer firefighter from Odemira, who was a victim of a fire truck accident in January when returning from a fire.
The president of the LBP, António Nunes, stated that about half of the firefighters, 112, were injured since July 27, when the number of fires began to increase.
António Nunes indicated that most of the firefighters injured in the past three weeks were directly associated with firefighting efforts, with additional cases of injuries caused by fire truck accidents.
Among the injuries, most of which are minor, include sunburns, sprains, smoke inhalation, and exhaustion.
“The assessment of these cases, monitored by the Firefighter’s Social Protection Fund (FPSB), naturally raises concerns for the Liga dos Bombeiros Portugueses,” added the LBP.
Portugal has been on high alert due to the fire risk since August 2, and several fires have broken out in the north and center of the country in recent weeks, consuming more than half of the approximately 75,000 hectares of burned area this year.
