The Regional Secretary for Health highlighted in Nordeste the increase in the number of firefighters and the emergence of new fire schools in the associations of volunteer firefighters of the Azores.
"There are various signs evidencing this commitment and growth of firefighters in this enduring mission," stressed Rui Luís. He spoke at the ceremony celebrating the 39th anniversary of Nordeste Humanitarian Association of Volunteer Firefighters.
In the last decade, the recorded data show an increase of more than a hundred firefighters, including volunteer members and professionals, from 720 firefighters in 2009 to 831 today.
The government official highlighted the dynamics and recruiting capacity of associations, pointing out the fire schools as a good example of such mobilisation.
Overall, eight schools were created in the municipalities of São Roque do Pico, Ponta Delgada, Praia da Vitória, Ribeira Grande, Nordeste, Vila Franca do Campo, Horta and Santa Cruz das Flores.
A total of 350 people have enrolled in these schools as fire juniors, cadets and trainees. In just over a year, there has been an increase of 200 enrolees and another three fire schools have been created.
"Even on less populated islands, these schools launch the first stage of training in the areas of volunteering, protection and rescue, creating conditions for the training of new firefighters," said Rui Luís.
On the occasion, the Regional Secretary stated that the Azorean Government is working to improve the working conditions of volunteer firefighters.
"Specifically, I refer to ordinance 10/2010, whose revision we are committed to undertaking. In this regard, the first meeting of the technical group created for this purpose, according to the Labour Code, is already scheduled for May," stated the government official.
In his speech, Rui Luís also emphasised the investments in fire corporations with a positive impact on the improvement of firefighters' working conditions.
"This is evidenced by the allocation of funds to this association, where the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service has invested about 300 thousand Euros over the last two years. This amount has supported major repairs of vehicles, payments to ambulance crews and the acquisition of equipment," said the Regional Secretary.
Regarding the acquisition of vehicles, Rui Luís highlighted the investment of 1.5 million Euros that is being made during this legislative period to equip all the fire corporations with ambulances.