LISBON, July 28, 2019 (Lusa) – The Secretary of State for Civil Protection today handed over responsibility for the process of buying ‘fire kits’, including smoke collars, to the National Civil Protection Authority.

“The process was developed by Civil Protection,” José Artur Neves told television.

He also stressed that the smoke collar, “which some experts say is flammable”, is an element of awareness rather than protection.

“It is not an element to protect the citizen from fire, because the citizen is not intended to fight the fire. It is intended to convey to the citizen that he must be provided with a cloth, be it a nightgown or a wet towel so as not to breathe the smoke”, he specified.

The Jornal de Notícias reported on Friday that 70,000 smoke-free collars made of flammable and uncarbonised material, which cost 125,000 euros, were handed over by civil protection under the “Safe Village” and “Safe People” programs.

The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) clarified that the materials distributed under the programs are not for firefighting or for individual protection, but for raising awareness of good practices.