Chega requested an urgent hearing from the Minister of Internal Administration (MAI) on the failures in fire fighting and the creation of an independent commission to investigate “the brutal fires” in Covilhã.
In a statement released this Saturday, signed by deputies Pedro Pinto and Bruno Nunes, Chega requests “the designation of an urgent hearing, on the indications of the failures reported in firefighting, including those related to those of the SIRESP and the consequences from the same”. regarding the burned areas, as well as the widespread failures in fire fighting and, in particular, regarding the Covilhã fire.”
In addition to the MAI, the party headed by André Ventura wants the head of the Nature and Environment Protection Service (SEPNA), the president of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), the president of the Liga Firefighters of Portugal (LBP), the commander of the Voluntary Firefighters of Alvaiázere, the president of the National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection (ANPC) and the president of the Integrated System of Emergency and Security Networks of Portugal (SIRESP).
According to the note, dated Friday, the deputies highlight two points to which they want an answer, the first of which is in relation to the “failures” of the SIRESP, recalling the Pedrógão fires of 2017 and that the “operators, mayors and fire department officials who acted in the firefighting allege that the SIRESP fails consecutively in critical situations in which it should be fully operational and for which it was, in fact, acquired.”
The second point refers to what the deputies consider “failures in fighting the fire in Covilhã”, considering it “incomprehensible that on August 10, in a period of great need to put an end to the fire that devastated Covilhã, three (planes) Canadair has been inoperative, one due to mechanical failure and another to carry out reviews for flight hours. It is undeniable that there were (once again) brutal and unavoidable failures in fighting this fire.”
“It is essential to listen to the different entities to understand exactly how the SIRESP works or not and what flaws must be urgently corrected to invest effectively in prevention and in a more efficient fight,” reads the request.
According to the deputies, after becoming aware of the difficulties felt on the ground, “it is essential to listen to the Minister of Internal Administration, especially regarding the fire in Covilhã, without prejudice to the need to establish an independent entity commission that can evaluate the chain of events, the faults found and to whom they should be attributed”.
Source: Observadora
