“We are discussing internally a new framework that will promote a clarification of responsibilities, a goal for greater operational coordination, and a purpose for more coherent territorial and functional system of the national emergency operations,” said Luis Montenegro. He added that within the scope of the organizational reorganization of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), “an operational command will be created with two aspects: the essential aspect of civil protection, but also a command aspect at the level of fire brigades in the management of operations.”
The Prime Minister, who presided over the opening of the 45th Congress of the Portuguese Firefighters League in Alcobaça, Leiria district, unveiled a set of measures the Government intends to implement. He assured the roughly 700 attendees that, “in the coming days,” the budgetary reinforcement requested by ANEPC, totaling 27 million euros, will be available for payment of extraordinary expenses for the rural fire fighting device and the corresponding additional 25% remuneration to firefighters involved in combating the fires.
Additionally, Luis Montenegro announced the allocation of 10 million euros to a forest vehicle acquisition program, provided by Timor-Leste, to compensate the regions most affected by the rural fires of 2025.
Among the listed measures, the Prime Minister referred to the creation of a legal framework to enshrine the professional careers of permanent staff within the firefighter association movement.
“We are taking on this challenge to ensure more stability, better career progression, and thus more capacity to attract and retain human resources, because without attracting and retaining human resources, the sustainability of the whole sector would be compromised,” he stated.
The Government also aims to promote the professionalization of the first response, with the goal that “each municipality will have at least three permanent intervention teams,” along with ensuring continuous funding for firefighter corporations to avoid always discussing extraordinary funding.
Montenegro noted that the Government aims to streamline financial transfer procedures from the Firefighter Social Protection Fund to “ensure faster and more effective payments,” to boost the training and skill enhancement of firefighters, and will attempt next year to reinforce the special rural fire fighting device and the Special Civil Protection Force, which he admitted could be “multiplied three or four times.”
Measures reflecting the Government’s commitment, as noted by Montenegro, to seriously execute the planned program for Firefighters in partnership with all representatives of this movement.
The Portuguese Firefighters League (LBP) is holding its national congress in Alcobaça today and Sunday, “at a time of great dissatisfaction” among volunteer firefighters who are demanding government responses regarding funding, careers, and support for volunteering.
The congress, which has over 700 participants, will decide on the implementation of protests if the Government does not provide guarantees on solving the issues and fulfilling the Government program.
