It is called the National Federation of Portuguese Firemen and wants to bring together professional firefighters and volunteers. The new body was presented this Tuesday in Lisbon, and is based on the desire to represent all of the country’s firefighters.

The initiative is based on the National Association of Professional Firefighters (ANBP) and the Portuguese Association of Voluntary Firefighters (APBV), which aim to “clarify the representation of Portuguese firefighters”. The goal is that the new federation will “occupy the space that is legitimately of the firemen,” they defend.

Speaking to TSF, the president of APBV, Rui Moreira da Silva, believes that the representation of firefighters should not be in the hands of the Portuguese Firemen’s League.

“The sector needs, at this moment, to have a voice that represents them, that bears the state of soul that in recent times has settled in the firemen, be they professionals or volunteers,” said Rui Moreira da Silva.

The creators of this new federation consider that the Fire Brigade represents “the units holding the fire brigades and not the men and women who provide service 365 days a year.”

The Federation of Firefighters will address issues such as the careers and professionalization of firefighters or insurance, “which are a real national shame in the case of volunteer firefighters,” he added.

Hearing from TSF, the president of the Portuguese Fire Brigade League denies that the institution represents only the units holding the fire brigades, as those responsible for the newly created federation say.

“It’s a shameful lie,” said Jaime Marta Soares. “The Portuguese Firemen’s League represents associations and fire brigades. Well, the fire brigades are made up of all their elements of the active body, “said the president of the League.

Jaime Marta Soares accused the creators of the Portuguese National Firefighters Federation of wanting to “assault” the League, and “invade a space” that is already occupied.

The president of the Firemen’s League considers that the new federation is a “badly framed marriage” between the ANBP and the APBV and “that does not have representative” nor it demonstrates “any future”.