The Municipality of Portimão guaranteed, through the revenue from the collection of the Municipal Civil Protection Tax, an amount of 440 thousand euros to finance the municipality's Fire Department.
For this purpose, on Friday, 23 January, an operating program contract was signed between the City Council and the Voluntary Firefighters of Portimão, following another previously signed investment contract.
These contracts ensure an important component of the financing of the Fire Department, through the Humanitarian Association of Voluntary Firefighters of Portimão, the entity responsible for this operational unit.
Isilda Gomes, Mayor, stressed that "these program contracts are only possible with the amounts received from the Municipal Civil Protection Tax." The mayor recalls that when the Tax was launched, she said that "an important portion of the collection would be transferred to the Firefighters of Portimão." Now, he stresses, "we have fulfilled what we promised the people of Portimo".
“The reinforcement of support for this indispensable institution of the city will reinforce the capacity to respond and sustain its functioning, with increased efficiency in protecting and helping people, in defending their heritage and safeguarding the environment. As Portimão is a tourist destination, a relevant condition for its local economy, it is very important to maintain in this area a level of security that is adequate for the thousands of tourists and visitors who choose this location for leisure», added Isilda Gomes.
The mayor and the president of the Association's Board of Directors, Álvaro Bila, signed the framework of cooperation between the municipality and the Fire Department for the next semester, in an investment that amounts to more than 440 thousand euros.
The amount is broken down "by operating and development expenses of the missions entrusted to that corporation in the scope of Civil Protection and Relief and for the pursuit of an adequate re-equipment plan, in view of the needs identified in due course and which it is important to mitigate."
The partnership signed with these two new instruments considered «fundamental for the continuation of the important activity of Civil Protection in the Municipality of Portimão» includes the maintenance of an intervention force, throughout the 24 hours, with a high degree of readiness and exclusively for the protection and relief, as well as contributions for current expenses in the context of emergency intervention, such as fuel and insurance for intervention vehicles.
Thus, given the funding that the municipality provided, the Fire Department of Portimão currently maintains, with recourse to a staff of 43 professionals and 60 volunteers, an intervention force, over 24 hours, composed of 15 Firefighters, on a permanent basis, with a high degree of readiness.
This force is increased whenever the Special Alert State of the Integrated System of Protection and Relief Operations (SIOPS) is determined, in order to respond promptly to requests from the population of Portimo.
From an investment point of view, the contracts include funds for the acquisition of an Ambulance and a Tank Vehicle and the recovery of vehicles that were inoperative.
Within the scope of re-equipment, there is also a strong focus on individual protection equipment for Firefighters, as well as the qualification of human resources, the maintenance of the barracks and the acquisition of specialized intervention equipment in view of the risks present in the municipality of Portimão.
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