The old area of Albufeira hosted a simulacrum of urban fire, last Saturday, which served to test the Intervention Plan for this area of the city.
The operation involved 16 vehicles (ambulances, supply vehicles, fire fighting vehicles) and 52 operational vehicles, including elements of the Albufeira Voluntary Fire Department, Portuguese Red Cross, GNR and Maritime Authority.
One of the main objectives was to test the responsiveness of the various agents and the means involved, bearing in mind that the area in question “is quite sensitive”.
«At 9 am, a fire broke out at nº 24 of Rua da Igreja Velha, reducing a vacant house to rubble and causing the evacuation and resettlement of 20 people, residing in the adjoining houses. When the first alert was broadcast at 9:10 am, it took only seven minutes for the intervention forces to arrive at the scene», describes the City Council of Albufeira, which promoted the exercise, as part of the commemorations of the International Civil Protection Day.
The simulation foresaw the existence of six lightly injured people, who «were helped on the spot by the Support Health team, consisting of two ambulances and four members of the Portuguese Red Cross – delegation from Silves| Albufeira».
However, the fire was said to have been extinguished at 10:50 am. «The victims were evacuated and taken to the place of accommodation, in the Municipal Pavilion of Albufeira. Secondary searches were started, aftermath operations, reassessment of the structure of the building where the fire broke out and the necessary steps to restore normality in the affected area», according to the City Council of Albufeira.
At the press conference that followed, the mayor of Albufeira Carlos Silva e Sousa said that the Simulacro took place as planned, despite some contingencies. Among the difficulties encountered were the typology of buildings characteristic of old areas (use of rammed earth and wood in construction, derelict or ruined houses and historic buildings), narrow streets with difficult access, poorly parked vehicles, an aging population with reduced mobility and the existence of a hotel nearby.
«There was an excellent articulation between the different forces involved in the field, the relief mechanisms worked, the equipment responded effectively and all the objectives designed for the operation were achieved», considered Carlos Silva e Sousa.
At the end of the year, the councilor of the Albufeirense municipality, Ana Vidigal, who led the exercise, met with representatives of the various entities involved, to carry out an assessment, which aimed to «verify the level of compliance with the objectives, evaluate the procedures of the different entities who participated in the exercise and propose the correction of any anomalies'.
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