The president of the Marinhais Festival Commission, Paulo André, stated on Monday that safety conditions were ensured for the fireworks display, which was launched ahead of schedule to avoid potential risks following the government’s declaration of an “alert situation” starting at midnight on Sunday.
“The reason for launching the fireworks early was due to the government’s stance that they could not be launched after midnight. We already had everything prepared for the display, but I opted to go ahead to avoid any risk, as is obvious,” he said in statements to SIC Notícias.
Paulo André also noted that the festival committee had “the necessary licenses” and that he communicated the decision [to launch the fireworks early] “to the appropriate authorities: the Civil Protection, the command of the National Republican Guard (GNR), the Santarém command for Mines and Traps, the Municipal Council.”
“I communicated that I was going to advance the fireworks by half an hour or forty minutes to avoid risk, and it was launched at 11:10 PM. I had the necessary approval from everyone, as they were all present at the location,” he mentioned, referring to the firefighters, GNR, and entities from the Marinhais Parish Council and the Salvaterra de Magos Municipal Council.
When asked whether the safety conditions were guaranteed, the president of the Festival Commission responded: “I confirm. Otherwise, the competent entities wouldn’t have been here to ensure it.”
Paulo André also pointed out that there was “preparation of the terrain eight days in advance,” carried out by the Public Security Police (PSP) of Santarém, the Civil Protection, and the local authorities.
Five fire outbreaks? “There were none”
Regarding the five fire outbreaks allegedly caused by the fireworks, the festival committee president explained that “the fireworks are launched in boxes from scaffolding, the boxes are cardboard, they burn, they fell to the ground, were thrown to the ground and burned.”
“There might have been two or three fire outbreaks within the pyrotechnic space, their responsibility, which could be extinguished with a little sand. To me, that’s not a fire outbreak. And maybe some straw or hay around the edges, but that’s why the Civil Protection was here to ensure it didn’t happen. Now, there were no fire outbreaks,” he argued.
Paulo André assured that “all safety measures” were guaranteed.
What’s at stake?
Last Saturday, August 2, after the government announced that the country would enter an “alert situation” starting at midnight on Sunday, the organization of Marinhais festivities (a village in Salvaterra de Magos, in the Santarém district) announced the advancement of fireworks to evade prohibitions.
“Due to the red alert issued by the government from midnight, the fireworks session will be advanced to 11:30 PM on August 2,” the festival committee wrote on Facebook.
The festival organization in the Santarém district advanced the fireworks display by an hour (to 11:30 PM) due to the government-announced alert situation, which took effect at midnight.
Carolina Pereira Soares | 10:15 – 03/08/2025
It is notable that the Salvaterra de Magos Municipal Council and the Marinhais Parish Council maintained that “the tradition is to be upheld” and didn’t seem regretful for advancing the fireworks display by an hour (to 11:30 PM on Saturday) due to the alert situation announced by the government, which took effect at midnight on Sunday and prohibits pyrotechnics launching.
It is now known that five fire outbreaks were reported within the perimeter of the fireworks launch in Marinhais.
The information was revealed to SIC by the Lezíria do Tejo Sub-Regional Command, which confirmed the outbreaks were extinguished by Salvaterra de Magos firefighters mobilized for the event.
“If people are speaking ill of you, it means you’re doing something right…”, shared the mayor after the festivities, emphasizing the “strict compliance” with the rules. The vice-president of the Marinhais Parish Council was also adamant: “We will not stop holding the festivities in this way.”
Tomásia Sousa | 15:10 – 04/08/2025
