At a congress attended by more than 700 participants, decisions will be made regarding protests if the government does not provide assurances on resolving issues and fulfilling its program commitments.
The event will feature the presence of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, the Secretary of State for Civil Protection Rui Rocha, and deputies from various political parties.
In statements, the president of the LBP, António Nunes, highlighted a “moment of great dissatisfaction” within the sector, warning that mere words from the government would be insufficient to appease the firefighters.
António Nunes noted that there are 10 motions up for approval at the congress, demanding “clarification from the government” on funding for humanitarian firefighter associations, the creation of a career path with corresponding remuneration, and support for volunteers.
Adding to these longstanding issues, the humanitarian associations have not yet received this year’s payments for extraordinary expenses incurred during the fight against rural fires. António Nunes emphasized that some brigades have extraordinary expenses exceeding 250,000 euros just in the month of August.
The extra costs for firefighter brigades related to food, fuel, and damaged firefighting vehicles are estimated to reach around 20 million euros this year.
António Nunes recalled that the government’s program stated these expenses would be paid within 30 days.
The LBP also challenges the amount allocated in the State Budget for the financing of volunteer firefighter brigades next year, which is around 37 million euros, advocating for a minimum of 49.38 million euros to be transferred to humanitarian associations.
The congress, which will gather command and management elements of humanitarian associations from across the country over two days, is held under the theme “congress of certainty,” justified by the LBP with “the certainty that the current state of affairs in the associations is intolerable and cannot continue.”
“We have a certainty. Without concrete measures for firefighters, the sector will eventually enter a decline,” said António Nunes, mentioning that during the summer fires, firefighter brigades managed to mobilize over 5,000 firefighters, and this week, due to bad weather, around 6,300 were available.
The president of the LBP stressed that “not only professional firefighters were available but also volunteers.”
According to the League, “there are issues that successive governments have postponed,” and the current one claims it wants to resolve them but does not commit to a timeline.
If concrete proposals are not forthcoming, the congress will decide on protest actions, potentially including street demonstrations near government bodies, depositing helmets on the steps of the Assembly of the Republic, and enacting a blockade where firefighters refrain from responding to calls for a few minutes.
The League comprises the 436 humanitarian firefighter associations existing in the country.
