Minister still lacks 40 helicopters for summer fire-fighting duties

Portugal’s Minister of Internal Affairs has launched an urgent tender to rent 40 aircraft to fight fires this coming season.

 

The minister admitted that the last tendering process had resulted only in contracts for helicopters, when 50 had been asked for.

As Portugal's Air Force sits by, the minister announced the new and urgent tender, with a deadline of 15 days, for the contracting of 40 aircraft to combat forest fires from this year until 2020, even though the Air Force is due to take over all air support services in 2019.

 

Minister Eduardo Cabrita today was visiting the National Civil Protection Authority, as part of Civil Protection Day and explained to journalists that the Council of Ministers had authorised the hiring of air resources to combat forest fires for the two year period, for a total of €48,888,667.

 

This expenditure comes after an unsuccessful international public tender, launched at the end of last year, to hire a fleet of 50 aircraft.

 

Cabrita said that the country is preparing for "all kinds of risks," especially those related to fires and said he believes that society is now "fully mobilised to raise awareness, for scrub clearance and for the prevention of forest fires."

 

Eduardo Cabrita insisted that more specialisation is needed so that the authorities can be prepared for all types of disasters including droughts, floods and fires but also epidemics, industrial and chemical risks and earthquakes.

 

"A broadband Civil Protection service, with a reinforced organic structure and in close connection with our systems," summarised Cabrita, whose halcyon view of the perfect defence system may be marred, yet again, by a lack or air support when and where it is needed.

 

The minister did find time to praise Portugal's volunteer fire-fighters whom, he said, are "the backbone" of the Civil Protection system.

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