Chega demanded from the Minister of the Interior (MAI) an urgent hearing on the failures in firefighting and the creation of an independent commission to investigate the “violent fires” in Covilhã.
In a statement released this Saturday, signed by deputies Pedro Pinto and Bruno Nunez, Chega asks “to set an urgent hearing on the testimony of reports of failures in fire control, including those related to SIRESP, and their consequences. in terms of burnt areas, as well as general failures in firefighting and, in particular, with regard to the fire in Covilhã”.
In addition to MAI, Andre Ventura’s party wants to head the Service for the Protection of Nature and the Environment (SEPNA), President of the Institute for the Protection of Nature and Forests (ICNF), President of the League of Portuguese Firefighters. (LBP), Commander of the Alvayazère Volunteer Firefighters, President of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPC) and President of Portugal’s Integrated Emergency and Security Networks (SIRESP).
According to a note dated Friday, MPs highlight two points they want a response to, the first of which concerns the “failure” of SIRESP, recalling the fires in Pedrogane in 2017 and that “operators, mayors and fire brigades officials, acting in extinguishing fires, argue that SIRESP fails consistently in critical situations in which it should fully function and for which it, in fact, was purchased.
The second point concerns what MPs consider “failures to extinguish the fire in Covilhã”, deeming it “incomprehensible that on 10 August, at a time of great need to put an end to the fire raging in Covilhã, three (aircraft) Canadairs are out of service, one due to a mechanical faults, and the other for checks due to raid. It cannot be denied that there were (once again) cruel and inevitable setbacks in putting out this fire.”
“Listening to different entities is important to understand exactly how SIRESP works and what deficiencies need to be addressed urgently in order to effectively invest in prevention and more effective control,” the report says.
According to the deputies, having learned about the difficulties felt on the ground, “it is necessary to listen to the Minister of the Interior, especially with regard to the fire in Covilhã, without prejudice to the need to create an independent commission that could assess the situation.” chain of events, failures detected and to whom they should be attributed.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
