Civil Protection sent to all operational personnel involved in the rural fire-fighting device a plan with measures and instructions to prevent contagion by covid-19, that organization revealed to Lusa today.

According to the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), the operational instruction was sent on Tuesday to all operational personnel of the Special Rural Fire Fighting Device (DECIR) of 2020.

ANEPC stresses that this document materializes a set of concrete measures, ranging from individual protection, hygiene rules for rest spaces, food and transportation for operational staff.

These measures are intended to protect civil protection agents from contagion by covid-19 during the time of fighting rural fires, advances Civil Protection, noting that the document reflects the recommendations of health authorities.

The instruction manual on how to manage the risk of covid-19 in fighting fires includes the hygiene and distance rules applied to the spaces where the operational personnel sleep, eat, rest or receive the command’s instructions, as well as the procedures that must be followed. with equipment and vehicles, namely cleaning before and after each service.

Meals will be distributed directly in the theaters of operations, instead of concentrating on the food places and multiplying the number of food places.

According to ANEPC, the pre-positioning of means will be done through a greater separation of teams to avoid exposure to covid-19 through an adjustment of the rules for the use of the Logistical Support Bases and a lower concentration of elements for each one. of these infrastructures, promoting a greater distribution of personnel in the territory through the different temporary municipal infrastructures, created for the reception of people affected with covid-19 and that are not being used.

The Civil Protection has also foreseen the implementation of mechanisms of initial attack to the most robust fires due to the danger and meteorological risk with the use of aerial and terrestrial means of expanded attack, right in the initial phase, in order to reduce the times of operation and of a more prolonged concentration of human resources over time.

In relation to the coordination of air resources, an additional reinforcement grant is foreseen through elements with adequate experience and training.

The National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection also provides rules for command posts installed in theaters of operations.

In a debate organized last week, the southern district grouping operational commander (CODIS), Miguel Cruz, stressed that this operational instruction can be articulated with the contingency plans of each of the structures involved in the combat.

The means of fighting forest fires were strengthened for the first time this year on May 15, this year being the great challenge to the pandemic of invite-19 in which it is necessary to reconcile the response to fires with health security.

According to the National Operational Directive (DON), which establishes the DECIR for this year, 8,402 operational members of the 1,945 teams and 1,968 vehicles of the various agents present in the field will be available by May 31, in addition to the aerial means, which will be at most 37.

The means of firefighting will be reinforced again on June 1, but it is between July and September, known for the most critical phase, the period that mobilizes the largest device, with 11,825 operational personnel, 2,746 teams, 2,654 vehicles this year. and 60 aerial means.