The Environment minister said today that there will be a reinforcement of surveillance against forest fires, with seven thousand elements on the ground and the acquisition of 12 more drones with a radius of action of 100 kilometres.
João Pedro Matos Fernandes was speaking to journalists at the end of the meeting of the Coordination Council of AGIF (Agency for the Integrated Management of Rural Fires), which was chaired by the Prime Minister, António Costa, at Palácio da Ajuda, in Lisbon.
“We decided to clearly reinforce surveillance to ensure that, as soon as a fire occurs, it is fought out in the shortest possible time. We are going to guarantee that the approximately seven thousand elements on the ground, from different bodies, will all act in an articulated manner in this same surveillance», declared the minister of Environment and Energy Transition.
João Pedro Fernandes also said that the surveillance actions will be reinforced with “six teams with two drones each, that is, 12 in the total that will be acquired”.
“These 12 drones will have a flight capacity of between six and eight hours, with a radius of action of 100 kilometers from the point where they are commanded. From the end of June, these drones will be on the ground. In this first year, they will be a great tool for surveillance», he considered.
At today's meeting, according to the Minister for the Environment and Energy Transition, there was also the idea that, so far, there is no indication of a reduction in human resources to fight fires as a result of the current Covid pandemic. -19.
"All entities cooperated to reduce as much as possible the risk of contagion, although, categorically, we cannot say that this reduction in resources will not happen," said the member of the Government.
The president of AGIF Tiago Oliveira was asked about the consequences of Covid-19 on how the forces can act in fighting fires.
“More than ever this year, it is important to reduce the number of fires on the most critical days. If there are fewer fires, the lesser the need to mobilize resources», replied Tiago Oliveira.
Faced with the current pandemic, Tiago Oliveira said that, at the operational level, “there will have to be adaptations” – adaptations that, however, should not harm the fight.
“Civil Protection has a set of concerns that have been transmitted to the fire brigades. On the part of AGIF, we have a set of recommendations that we are validating with the General Directorate of Health», he said.
These recommendations will then be transmitted "across all" entities and, according to the president of AGIF, "the rule of social distancing will apply, naturally ensuring that there will be no impact on the operation."
“We are trying to understand how we are going to adjust. We are looking at the problem head on, with the main objective of reducing the number of ignitions», he concluded.
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