The Lisbon Sapper Regiment will be criminally involved in attacks by volunteer firefighters on a sapper during work, stressing that the coordination of assistance in the municipality must be carried out by municipal professionals, the Chamber said on Friday.
In response to Lusa’s questions, the Lisbon City Council (CML), which oversees the Fire Regiment (RSB), expressed regret and condemned “any type of aggression or violent action by anyone” and stressed that the situation of aggression that occurred on Monday must be dealt with at the criminal and disciplinary levels and within the framework of the civil protection system.
Volunteer firefighters reportedly “violently” attacked a deputy chief of the bomb disposal unit on Monday while responding to a call for help in Campo de Ourique, a situation condemned by professional fire services, which warned of a climate of constant confrontation and disrespect for the volunteer structures of professional firefighters in the Lisbon municipality that has been going on for months, jeopardizing the provision of assistance in the city.
According to the municipality, the RSB legal department is already preparing a report for the purposes of criminal proceedings regarding the acts committed, and the president of the Humanitarian Association of Voluntary Firefighters of Campo de Ourique, to which the alleged attackers belong, has already been asked “by your command to take all necessary measures to establish appropriate disciplinary measures against the offending firefighters.”
RSB is also finalising a formal collaboration with the National Emergency Management and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), which will “highlight the frequency of this type of intervention by volunteer firefighters in RSB priority activities”.
“ANEPC will also be obliged to take concrete and decisive action to reinforce the volunteer fire brigades existing in the Lisbon municipality, the need to respect the duty to refrain from acting when the RSB takes over the provision of assistance in the theatre of operations and to act only under the direction of the RSB,” the municipality stressed.
In a letter sent to the President of the Chamber on Thursday, to which Lusa had access, the president of the Lisbon Municipal Workers’ Union (STML), Nuno Almeida, asked Carlos Moedas for a meeting “with the utmost urgency”, after the deputy chief of the sappers was “violently attacked by a member of the Campo de Ourique volunteer fire brigade” on Monday.
According to the union, in addition to “other episodes that have occurred in recent months”, this aggression – “regrettable and unprecedentedly serious” – is the result of “a climate that has existed for several years” of “clear institutional confrontation, impudence, arrogance and insubordination on the part of firefighters belonging to the various volunteer fire departments of Lisbon towards the RSB professionals.
“Even more seriously, this position of constant confrontation jeopardizes the effectiveness of the assistance that the RSB is obliged to provide to the city and the people of Lisbon,” he added.
The National Association of Professional Firefighters (ANBP) and the National Union of Professional Firefighters (SNBP) also rejected in a statement the “rapid intervention” of some volunteer firefighters, considering that “the lack of respect shown by some volunteer firefighters in Lisbon is linked to the ineffectiveness of the current CML councilor. [Câmara Municipal de Lisboa] and ANEK.”
Both organisations stressed that actions in the city of Lisbon are the responsibility and competence of their professional fire brigade, with the relevant hierarchy responsible for “command and coordination of all emergency operations at municipal level or elsewhere when required”.
The professional structures of the fire brigades have demanded a “quick clarification” of these powers, despite the fact that the Lisbon City Council and the RSB Command are taking the necessary measures with the volunteer firefighters of Campo de Ourique to “respect the law”.
In a conversation with Lusa, the commander of the volunteer firefighters of Campo de Ourique said that he would not make any statements until “the internal process that is taking place is completed.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.