The national operational directive (DON), which establishes the Special Rural Firefighting Device (DECIR), was approved today by the National Civil Protection Commission, whose meeting was chaired by the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Paulo Simões Ribeiro, and took place at the headquarters of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), in Carnaxide. According to data to which Lusa had access, the land device will have 14,155 elements and 3,173 vehicles during the period of greatest commitment of resources, between July 1 and September 30, called 'level Delta'. In 2023, the number of operational personnel involved in fighting fires between July and September was 13,891, which means that this year there are 264 more elements to fight fires. The same happens with the vehicles available, which increase by 183, going from 2,990 vehicles to 3,173. The period considered most critical in rural fires will have 70 air resources this year, two less than in 2023. The air resources that will not be available this year in the DECIR are two 'canadair' aircraft. A source from the firefighters told Lusa that there are no 'canadair' aircraft on the market, hence the difficulties in renting them. According to ANEPC, the DON is the document that, annually, defines the resources and establishes the architecture of the management, command and control structure of the Integrated Protection and Rescue Operations System, in addition to establishing the way in which institutional coordination, regulation, articulation and optimization of the forces and organizations that make up the system. DECIR 2024 will be presented in a public session scheduled for Tuesday in Ourém, in the district of Santarém, in a ceremony presided over by the Minister of Internal Administration, Margarida Blasco. The approval and presentation of the DECIR happen this year almost simultaneously with the first reinforcement of firefighting resources, which will take place on Wednesday. In a note released on social media, Civil Protection states that today's meeting also approved the Integrated Directive for Detection and Surveillance of Rural Fires (DIVDIR) for this year, which establishes coordination mechanisms between the entities of the Integrated Management System of Rural Fires and other institutions involved in rural fire surveillance and detection operations, in order to ensure the optimization of the operational use of mobile surveillance systems, forest video surveillance, aerial surveillance and the National Network of Lookout Posts. The National Civil Protection Commission also approved the operating regulations for the National, Regional and Sub-regional Operational Coordination Centers, under the terms of the Integrated Protection and Rescue Operations System. Read Also: A25 in Viseu reopens to traffic after truck fire this morning (Portuguese version)