Increased hazard of fires in Andalucia due to lack of personnel

CONTROVERSY has been sparked amongst the UGT trade union in representation of Andalucian fire fighters, as they claim the sector has been neglected by the regional government for years.
Trade Union UGT denounced on Thursday (July 16) that the Environment and Land Planning Department of the Junta de Andalucia Regional government is not investing as much as they should be to combat forest fires through the Plan Infoca, and that the deployment has reduced by 33 per cent during the past 10 years.
“Staff replacements are only covered when there is a high risk for fires, in an improved and incomplete way,” said UGT in a statement, which continued: “Officers are showing an excellent level of professionalism and dedication regardless of the lack of means.”
“Staff is abandoned during nine months only to be praised during the three months when fires usually take place, so that politicians can take a picture on the field and then abandon us for the next nine months,” continued the statement.
The trade union claims they have been complaining for quite some time that the project has not received enough funds for years, that their fire fighting force is aging and units are incomplete as part of the staff is hired only during four months.