Almost 13,000 firefighters, 3,602 teams, 2,822 vehicles and 60 ‘aerial assets’

Portugal’s acute firefighting stage began on July 1 with a budget of €52 million, €32 million of which is for land, the rest for air.

Opening a ceremony at the Civil Protection Campus in Vila Nova de Famalicão, interior minister José Luís Carneiro said that from now until September 30 there are 12,917 personnel, 3,062 teams, 2,833 vehicles and 60 aerial assets are permanently available on the ground, meaning that “the country, as a whole, is strongly committed to this fight”.

“We’re talking about more than €30 million from the State Budget, we’re talking about €32 million for the DECIR [Special Rural Fire Fighting System] ground unit, another €20 million for the air unit, and a State Budget that includes a 100% increase in the support granted to the firefighters’ social protection fund, i.e. the fund that safeguards the future of Portuguese firefighters,” he said.

Read more on this story at the Portugal Resident