The PSD presented a vote of Praise to the firefighters of the Humanitarian Association of Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters who were part of the National Joint Operational Force that helped fight the fires in Canada.
In a press statement, the PSD wrote:
The PSD Parliamentary Group presented, in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, a vote of praise to the firefighters Paulo Nóbrega, João Figueira, Daniel Silva, Leandro Coelho, and João Freitas, from the Mixed Corps of the Humanitarian Association of Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters, for their unique contribution, unparalleled dedication and spirit of sacrifice and selflessness with which they fought the rural fires that continue to ravage Canada.
Large rural fires have been raging in Canada for more than three months. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), the body responsible for responding to rural fires in that country, estimates that almost 8 million hectares have burned since May.
From Portugal, towards the province of Quebec, came a National Joint Operational Force that helped fight that scourge. This Portuguese force integrated 140 operatives of the National Authority of Emergency and Civil Protection, the Special Civil Protection Force (FEPC) of ANEPC, the Emergency Protection and Relief Unit (UEPS) of the GNR, the Institute of Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), the fire brigades of the Central Region and the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM).
Among them were the five firefighting personnel from Madeira, operatives of the Mixed Corps of the Humanitarian Association of Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters, and the first Madeirans to integrate an international operational mission.
The integration and choice of the Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters were based on the high competence, excellence of training, and practical rural firefighting experience gained from the challenges of controlling fires in Madeira.
In Canada they encountered adverse conditions, but, once again, the firefighters of the Autonomous Region of Madeira demonstrated the fibre so characteristic of our corporations, magnifying the name of our Madeira across borders.
Let us not forget that these five firefighters are part of the Humanitarian Association of Madeiran Volunteer Firefighters, which, since 1926, has as its main mission the protection of human lives, their property, and the environment, acting under the motto “Life for Life” and which has been, on several occasions, distinguished and recognised for its commitment, the quality of its service and the dedication and bravery of its operatives.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
