The municipality therefore has an organised team of operatives who are adjusted daily to the rural fire danger index. This team includes a Municipal Civil Protection operational team and a team of Forest Sappers, under a protocol with the Vale do Ave Foresters Association, who have previously positioned themselves in strategic locations, guaranteeing a quick and effective response in the event of a fire, totalling sixteen operatives dedicated to mobile surveillance.

‘We are prepared to fight this phase of greatest concern in terms of forest fires,’ said Mário Passos, mayor of Famalicão. ‘We have the necessary means and resources, not just now, but throughout the year, so that we can respond quickly and effectively,’ he added.

In terms of resources, and for the next two months, the Municipal Device for Surveillance and Support for Fire Suppression also includes a video surveillance system, a drone with a heat detector, an aerial vehicle, four vehicles with first intervention kits, a backhoe, a tanker and forestry implements. 

At the press presentation of the Municipal Device, Civil Protection Councillor Ricardo Mendes also said that ‘forest surveillance now reinforces a continuous cycle of prevention that we began at the end of last summer’. Since then, around 70 hectares of fuel management strips have been built near the road network and industrial zones, and more than 15 kilometres of forest paths have been improved.

It should be remembered that 61 incidents were recorded in 2024, with a total burnt area of 146.8 hectares. 

This Tuesday, 1 July, marks three years since the inauguration of the Civil Protection Campus in Bairro.