"We have a period of hard work ahead of us in safeguarding and protecting people and property, a period of rolling up our sleeves and keeping them rolled up, for an ungrateful fight not only against the elements, but also against the hands that are criminally taking the lives of our fellow citizens and their properties that cost them so much sweat", said Margarida Blasco.

In the presentation, in Ourém, in the district of Santarém, of the Special Rural Fire Fighting Device (DECIR) for 2024, Margarida Blasco considered that it is time for "joint, articulated work with the greatest priority need for unity of action and objectives".

"From today, each of the structures, services and associations that make up this joint structure, as well as each of the individuals that make them up, must abandon, as I know they will abandon in the name of Portugal, the search for personal, institutional, collective or corporate protagonism, to embrace and fully integrate themselves into the necessary joint action", she added.

For the minister, it is not a time for "quarrels or protagonism, but for action for the good of each of the citizens, all those who place their trust in the immense value of each" of the operational staff who, "with the means at their disposal, will do everything to fulfill" their "essential role in the extended civil protection device".

"Today, just over a month into the government, we should not care much about knowing operationally now whether everything that should have been done has been done to make the device that is starting its work today more robust and effective", she said, noting that "this will be the work of the Government" in seeking "to do everything to improve the system from here on".

Referring to the fire-fighting vehicles that will be delivered to fire brigades by the end of the year (81 in total, 10 of which were delivered today), the minister considered that "now is not the time to say whether more could have been achieved", as it is not "the time or the place to seek blame in the incomplete plans for the acquisition of more and better aerial resources to fight fires", but rather to "fully and effectively use" those that exist "without prejudice to the effort" in "seeking broader and more robust solutions".

On the other hand, she argues that it is not time to abandon "land clearing", but to accelerate it, while the government studies "more effective solutions to benefit those who comply".

The minister also referred to the 2017 fires, which killed more than 100 people in the Centro region, considering that lessons have been learned from these "horrible tragedies" and "efforts have been made to plan to ensure the mobilization, readiness, commitment and management of all available resources in the most efficient and effective way possible, in a collective effort by the State, institutions and private individuals".

"But, in this Government (...) we always want to go a little further. We cannot crystallize in an already automated evolution, but rather promote the search for evolution, improving what needs to be improved and reforming what needs to be reformed", she added.

The operational staff involved in fighting rural fires will increase slightly this year, with 14,155 elements planned for the months considered to be the most critical, but the device will have two fewer aerial resources, according to the national operational directive, which establishes the DECIR.

The directive was approved on Monday and includes a reinforcement of resources from this Wednesday.

To journalists, the minister explained that "the previous directive was in force".

"There is no gap between directives", Margarida Blasco assured and, regarding fewer aerial resources, she replied that it is in the "final adjustments" so that they can be made available.

Read Also: Firefighting device is "stable and robust" (Portuguese version)