The update of the model of volunteer firefighters proposed by the Generalitat does not satisfy the representatives of the group: “It does not address the structural problems and we do not agree on how it has been done because they have not counted on us; it fixes some things but keeps our situation precarious”, maintains the president of the Federation of Volunteer Bombers of Catalonia (FBVCat), Miquel Messeguer. The Association of Volunteer Firefighters of Catalonia (Asbovoca) is also opposed to a proposal that, in all probability, will be approved today by the Volunteer Firefighters Council of the Generalitat.
The new model, presented by the General Directorate of Prevention, Extinction of Fire and Rescue on June 14, proposes three areas of action: the recognition of volunteering, both internally, as well as public and institutional; incentives by establishing considerations; and the ease of entering the group by establishing a progressive system in two stages: a level 1 dedicated to services to the natural environment and a level 2 for all kinds of services.
“If a firefighter has an accident at work, he has assistance at first, but later if the injuries have caused a disability, since the Generalitat does not have a contractual relationship with the volunteer firefighter, he has no legal responsibility,” explains Messeguer. “We claim a contractual relationship to be covered by Social Security,” he insists.
Messeguer regrets that the proposal has not been officially presented and that park managers were informed without consulting the bulk of the group. “In all probability the Consell will approve it today because the structure facilitates it: seven votes from the representatives of volunteer firefighters, seven heads of region and the vote of the operational director general count, who is the one who breaks the tie.” This situation and the disagreement with several of the points of the new regulation have caused concern, if not indignation, among the collective.
The FBVCat is in favor of exhausting the political path. They hope to meet with the general director and the Minister of the Interior, although they already asked to do so with him more than a month ago and they are still waiting for a response. “If there are no political movements and those of the Department, then we will propose mobilizations”, adds Messeguer. To define them, they are conducting a survey among volunteer firefighters to gauge their willingness to close parks as a protest measure and what other demands can be made, such as a mass demonstration, deregistering vehicles or requesting leave of absence.
Other points of the new regulation that generate discrepancies are the decision to have only one water vehicle and only two in some parks, “when many already have two and having less limits our operational capacity, just like limiting 31 firefighters in each park Some need more troops.” They also consider that establishing two levels for volunteer firefighters “means a degradation and limiting ourselves to certain functions for a long time, because it is not specified how long it takes to go from one level to another.”
In its proposal, the Ministry recognizes that the current mixed model of volunteer and professional firefighters cannot be lost “because the operational response to the current risk scenario could not be guaranteed, with the professional resources available”, and assumes that the mixed model is “much more flexible”. Thus, the new model proposes the incorporation of 753 volunteers to achieve the objective of 31 troops in each volunteer fire station, which is 74 in total, and a training proposal for both level 1 and level 2 volunteer firefighters. and establishes modifications both in the operations and in the equipment.
