Press release - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Ação Climática

The Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action considers it essential to set the record straight about the recent statements made by the leader of the PS/Açores, Francisco César, regarding the regional fire service. The criticisms levelled do not reflect the reality. They rather ignore the progress made in the sector and seek to undermine the significant work carried out by the Regional Government in recent years to bolster resources, improve conditions for fire brigades and acknowledge the importance of Azorean firefighters.

In this regard, the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action clarifies the following:

Recent statements by Francisco César, leader of PS/Açores, regarding the Azores’ fire service reveal a worrying lack of understanding of the reality of the sector and a rather frivolous attempt to dismiss everything that has been achieved in recent years.

It seems that Francisco César has received the 2020 progress report. The situation he now describes largely corresponds to the reality this Government encountered as a result of previous socialist governments: lack of investment, ageing equipment, associations without an adequate funding model, and firefighters whose salaries did not reflect the demands of their role.

If the leader of the PS/Açores were to follow developments in the Region more closely and with greater attention, he would know that the fire service has never been so highly valued as it is now. He would probably need to spend more time in the Azores to become better acquainted with the reality of the sector.

Therefore, the fact that Francisco César is now talking about renewing the "red fleet" is particularly surprising, given that socialist governments have failed to purchase a single vehicle of this kind for fire departments since 2010 – a period spanning more than a decade.

Francisco César may now try to rewrite history, but the facts are hard to ignore: for more than ten years, the socialist governments have not purchased a single fire engine for Azorean fire departments. This is what is known as convenient political amnesia.

Today, whilst Francisco César is writing falsehoods, this Government has already purchased 28 red fleet vehicles, has another five scheduled for 2027, and has acquired 21 ambulances to bolster the emergency response capacity of Azorean fire departments – an overall investment exceeding €8 million in just five years.

It also seems to have gone unnoticed by the leader of PS/Açores that it was this Government that created and implemented a model for the regular funding of humanitarian organisations – something that had long been called for but never implemented by previous socialist governments. This support, which began at €500,000, now amounts to €750,000 per year, distributed according to objective and transparent criteria. It is a fundamental tool for ensuring the sustainability and financial predictability of Firefighters' Humanitarian Associations.

It is also curious that Francisco César should now advocate changes to a model that his party has never even been able to create. Perhaps the alternative he is proposing is a return to the model practised by socialist governments: no regular funding, no defined criteria and no structural support for humanitarian associations.

In terms of salaries,  the facts also refute the claims made by the leader of PS/Açores. Regrettably, Francisco César states that “firefighters have been waiting far too long for the Ordinance on Working Conditions to be updated,” when this document has been updated twice over the last two years, most recently less than a year ago. These statements are false, and firefighters are well aware of this.

In 2020, entry-level firefighters earned around €720. Today, the base salary stands at €1,014, representing an increase of around 40% over five years. In the last two years alone, the base salary increase for entry-level firefighters has exceeded €150 a month. No firefighter performing operational duties currently earns less than €1,000, a figure around 10% higher than the base salary in Mainland Portugal.

At the top of the career ladder, a salary that was just over €1,200 has now risen to over €1,600. These rises are not the result of political statements: they are the result of negotiation, dialogue with the associations and clear financial commitments made by the Regional Government.

As for pre-hospital emergency care, investment has risen by 70%, from €4.9 million in 2020 to €8.3 million in 2026. The number of crew members has increased from 220 to 277, thereby bolstering crews, improving response capacity to the population and increasing the amounts paid to associations per crew member.

It was also this Government that created and implemented a support model for the Junior and Cadet Fire Schools, which led to a 57% increase in the number of schools and an 82% increase in the number of students. This is how we ensure the sector’s generational renewal and prepare the future firefighters of the Azores: with tangible measures, funding and a long-term vision, rather than with empty statements.

Across the Regional Civil Protection System, more than €60 million has been invested over the last five years, with the last two years seeing the largest investment programmes ever in the Azorean fire service.

Francisco César may choose to ignore this reality. What he cannot do is try to deceive  Azorean firefighters, humanitarian organisations and the public by pretending that nothing has been done when the results are there for all to see.

It is entirely legitimate to want more for the fire service. This Government wants that too and has demonstrated it through investment, pay rises, renewed fleets, more staff and better conditions for fire departments. However, it is unacceptable to use the remaining difficulties as an excuse to turn a blind eye to what socialist governments failed to do for so many years.