# Fires & Bombeiros



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Folks

As most of the country seems to be on high fire alert right now I thought I'd mention you can keep an eye on what fires are burning by visiting fogos.pt & please remember the Bombeiros must be working incredibly hard right now so those who can might like to consider dropping off small bottles of water or soft drinks & snacks etc to your local Bombeiros station.

The vast majority of these guys are volunteers & some will give their very lives to keep us & our property safe so let's do what we can for them.


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

*Water and snack appeal*

Friends... the firefighters from all over the Portugal are in desperate need of clean water.
Let's make a chain of good and between all deliver some water in each fire station of our area
Don't be indifferent to this calamity that lives across the country!!
I'm going to do to get my part and i count on your generosity to this gesture so necessary!!


the appeal in Portuguese ....
Amigos ... os Bombeiros de todo o Portugal estão a precisar muito de água potável.
Vamos fazer uma corrente do bem e entre TODOS entregar alguma água em cada corporação da nossa zona???
Não fiquem indiferentes a esta calamidade que se vive por todo o País!!
Eu vou fazer chegar a minha parte e conto com a vossa generosidade para este gesto tão necessário!!


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

I did our weekly shop this morning and picked up some water for these amazing guys. If you could only have seen the pure joy that lit up (pun not intended) on the fireman's face when I dropped in to the fire station, then you too would grab a few bottles and take up the cause. I don't know who was closer to tears. The brave young bombeiro who could not believe this crazy old Brit that had dropped in, or me at his reaction. I came away feeling very insignificant and humble and wishing that I could have done more. 

Please help these brave men and women in any way that you can. You never know when it is you that might need them.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I appreciate many of us are paying supporters of our local Bombeiros & also drop off water & snacks etc to them but can't help feeling so much more could be done.

For example, we all have those soppy supermarket cards that get us next to nothing back so why not have them linked to a Bombeiros account so they get the money.

Individually, it's not worth much but collectively, it'd bring them a significant amount..... or why not sell 'I support Bombeiros' items such as T shirts & windscreen stickers for biggish profit etc? 

These guys are nothing short of heroes & we owe them so very much!


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

Good thoughts TM. I'm surprised that Continente, Ping Doce, etc. don't come up with some sort of scheme whereby we can donate at the till. Or how's about a bin at the exit to drop bits into? 

It was good to hear today that Ronaldo is going to help the folk in Madeira. Three dead and over 1,000 homeless in a fire started by a man who had already been caught once before. Why on earth was he walking free and abe to strike again?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Funny you should mention a 'drop off bin' at the local supermarket JohnBoy......... I was planning to suggest that at my local Intermarche today. 

As you say: Good on Ronaldo.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

Do let us know how you get on TM.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Ja, went in there and spoke to the manager who said he'd talk to the boss but he didn't sound enthralled by the idea......... time will tell now but I won't hold my breath because they're not exactly the best in the world. 

I also suggested linking the points card to a Bombeiros account so they get the money instead & he looked even less enthralled with that idea!


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

And the speed that they move here probably means that any idea will still not be in place by the next fire season.

Meanwhile, the 24 year old arrested in Madeira for starting that devastating fire (second offence in 2 years) has had his house and car vandalised. Fortunately the police managed to carry out a search of his home first, where they found a 24 metre coil of detonating fuse. 

Back on the mainland, an 18 year old has coughed to starting another fire because he was annoyed when his girlfriend broke off their relationship! Well you would, wouldn't you?

Another fire should be costing REFER a lot of money. That is the Network Rail of the country and GNR have discovered a 20 kms stretch of fires started alongside a railway line probably caused by a train. It seems that the cause was overheating brakes on the train, running through tinder dry grass that had been allowed to grow too close to the tracks.

And so it goes on.


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

*The face of exhaustion*

Some have been fire fighting without a break for days


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

They are amazing people especially when you consider the number of volunteers. A friend has been trying to help them and took meals and drinks to one group. They were very grateful but said they did not have time to eat!


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

*And equipment help arrives*

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE MAJORITY OF BOMBEIROS EQUIPMENT IS SELF FUNDED? 

South Yorkshire firefighters thanked for huge Portuguese equipment donation | Portugal Resident


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

*The heroes of Portugal*

And they still fight on


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

*Help support BOMBEIROS*

We all recognize that firefighters are unsung heroes . In Portugal , most fire stations work with material shortages and inadequate equipment for lack of funds and still risk their lives for us, in a selfless and dedicated manner , working with people and goods, often in flood control and rescue accident victims in places of difficult access, disasters , fires and assistance to patients or victims .

There is a way to help this wonderful band of people.

Campanha Internacional de Angariação de Donativos

They even now have a PayPal account.


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## SpiggyTopes (Feb 1, 2015)

Thanks for showing the donation address.

I've been working on the car today and just clicked on eBay to order a pretty insignificant part for it ........ then I got things in perspective and donated after reading your post.


Cheers.


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## smudges (May 2, 2013)

I just have to ask this, but why are these brave men a. volunteers b. having to buy their own equipment? I would've thought that one of the few duties a state has (as opposed to those so often assumed) is to protect the citizens. A fire service reliant on (presumably) unpaid volunteers with (again, presumably) scanty equipment strikes me as appalling.
I've been trying to get my head around this for weeks with the posts on here and have googled but to no avail.
Can someone please enlighten me? Thanks.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

A question that I have asked myself many times Smudges and the only answer I can come up with is, it's just the way that's it is done here. While you're scratching your head over that problem just add this in to the mix. This same group of people also provide one wing of what passes for an ambulance service here. I believe that they are the backbone of the patient transport service taking folk to and from appointments. But in addition, they also answer emergency calls along with the Red Cross and the government's own INEM service. Just what level of training they have I'm not sure, but you can bet that it is far less than the most basic ambulance tech in the UK.

Before we say too much though, we should get our own house in order. Before leaving the UK I was a volunteer first responder. In our county we were organised in groups that would provide 24/7 cover within an area that any of us could reach in six minutes to provide life support until the professionals arrived on scene. We had to provide our own vehicle and equipment including a defibrillator costing over £4,000, and pay for our own training. All this financed from donations which we also had to find within the community that we served. That was a few years ago now and since then I know that, in my county at least, the service has expanded and is more formally organised, but still wholly voluntary.


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## smudges (May 2, 2013)

Now I'm even MORE flabbergasted.....


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

They do get a lot of stuff donated to them & I read something online recently where (Yorkshire?) Fire Service had given then a massive donation of fire fighting equipment including (IIRC) more than one fire engine....... and they also get loaned a lot of gear in times of need....... An example of that is Russia recently lent them 2 big firebombers complete with flight & maintenance crews...... I saw them over the house just a few days ago. 

Not only do they fill the role of firefighters, ambulance crews & emergency phones etc they also ferry people to & from hospital for some treatments and/or for the elderly without transport etc.

Each station is largely self funding & you can become a supporter for just a few Euros a year...... you can also donate stuff you'd otherwise sell or dump & they'll sell it for funds.... & of course, they're delighted with donations of snacks & soft drinks they can consume on the move.

Another thing you can do is if you see any of them having a drink or lunch somewhere, just see the guy behind the counter & pay their bill for them. 

All in all, they're bloody heroes and hardly a year goes by that some don't give their lives to keep us safe.


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## smudges (May 2, 2013)

Do they get paid, these heroes?


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

Not just lives lost TM but equipment too. So far this year at least one engine consumed by fire that I know of and at least one other severely damaged when it rolled over en route to a blaze. I have not heard of any deaths so far this year but there is certainly one poor soul seriously injured in Coimbra Hospital.

To help your flabbergastedness Smudges, from personal observation I would estimate that in the Coimbra _region_ the emergency ambulance duties are probably shared out on a ratio of volunteer bombeiros 65%, Red Cross 25% and INEM 10%. In Coimbra city the Red Cross seems to be the greatest provider of emergency services.

One of the forum members will testify to the sheer dedication of the bombeiros patient transport service. If you missed Maggy's thread you can catch it here. At least the bombeiros are able to recover their costs from the hospital but the service is still provided by the volunteers.

Coming back to my previous UK county, the vast majority of patient transport there was also carried out by a volunteer car service. Drivers had their insurance covered and a generous mileage allowance towards the costs of fuel and wear and tear but their time was all given freely. You see, they are not so different here.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

smudges said:


> Do they get paid, these heroes?


I'm no expert but believe some at least get a small allowance to help with their expenses....... One figure I've seen quoted was in the region of €1.87 per hour so pretty much voluntary.

I'm told the families of those who die in the service get a death benefit but get an idea it's only a few grand?

If you're on Farcebook just plumb 'Bombeiros & the name of your local area' & you'll probably find quite a lot of info.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

There is an advertisement running on RTP at the moment for a donation hotline set up by RTP/MEO on 760 200 800 (calls cost €0.60 plus IVA). Donations can also be made at any branch of CGD bank or online using: IBAN PT50 0035 0697 00640792 930 46.


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## smudges (May 2, 2013)

Red Cross providing an ambulance service in a European country? Am now prostrate with flabbergastedness....


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

I was also a first responder in Hampshire about ten years ago. We used our own cars but did not have to pay for training.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

I was a volunteer driver as well as first responder. We were paid a mileage allowance. As I was still working freelance at home I did not do hospital runs, only to local doctors, opticians, dentists etc. It was a great crowd of people and passengers paid a contribution which enabled the group to stay solvent. Then Hampshire County Council sent in a dopey young woman to take over and we all protested so much she disappeared and we continued as before, very successfully.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

I was in our local Pingo Doce today and at last they have a large crate by the door for donations for the bombeiros. It was already almost full but only large packs of three products; 6 x 1 litre milk, 5 litre bottles of water and 24 packs of cereal bars. I suspect these were donations from Pingo Doce themselves.

Meanwhile, in Lisbon the pressure is obviously getting to the men. A very good friend who manages a Pingo Doce branch there, took a pallet load of bottled water to her local fire station. She was met at the door by a man who could only say, "I'm sick of the sight of water!" I do hope that there is a break in all this for them soon.

I did pop into our local fire station with the offer of a working washing machine so long as they could collect it. For the record, as far as Coimbra are concerned, they are no longer able to accept such items, as the business that they took them to for disposal have themselves gone out of business. They were very grateful of our offer though as they could make good use of the machine at the station. The only problem is that they are so busy fighting fires they haven't had time to pick it up yet. It's not going anywhere else lads. In your own time.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

I do not know the medicine behind it but I have heard that milk is an enormous benefit to firefighters on the job, hence the contributions.


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

*Lagos*

600 fighters are battling a fire in the algarve.

Asking for donations of chocolate as high energy snacks.
The firefighters are exhausted as they have NO RESERVES


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Maggy Crawford said:


> I do not know the medicine behind it but I have heard that milk is an enormous benefit to firefighters on the job, hence the contributions.


Any quick fix high energy food is why they need they are firefighting 24/7


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

16 die in Portugal forest fires
Fire crews are still struggling to bring wildfires in the southern Algarve tourist region under control today, officials have said.
The death toll from two weeks of record blazes rose to 16 when a firefighter, who had been burned in a forest fire in central Portugal last week, died of his injuries late Wednesday night.
Almost 500 firefighters, working with 139 fire trucks and helped by 240 soldiers, contained most of the fires in the Algarve region that had raced for five days through a hilly inland area of dense forest.
Strong winds and a heat wave drove the fires.
The main fire moved to within about five miles of Lagos, a major holiday town on the southern coast, before being brought under control, said Antonio Gualdino, spokesman for the National Fire Coordination Center.
The wildfires have charred a record 215,000 hectares (531,000 acres) so far this year, an area almost the size of Luxembourg, according to an estimate by the Forest Service.
The government has announced a national disaster in some areas and has requested financial aid from the European Union.


16 die in Portugal forest fires | Daily Mail Online


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

We've just spent a couple of days in the Douro valley. On the two hour drive from Porto to Regua, through what should have been stunning scenery, I estimate a good 30% of the land either side of the road was charred. For the majority of the journey we could see smoke in one direction or another. This madness has to stop and the perpetrators given some hard time and be publicly named and shamed. We hear so little of what happens to the offenders, which is hardly a deterrent to others.

On a lighter note, yesterday afternoon we took a cruise along the Douro in company with two other boats. At one point a firefighting airplane swooped down behind our boat to scoop up his next load of water. The flying skills exhibited by these pilots is amazing and we are lucky to have them around. This one came over the top of the hill, picked up his load and was gone again before we even had the time to say, "What the heck was that? " The folk in the boat behind us must have had an amazing view.


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