Safety of people and properties has been strengthened, mayor says
Faro’s ‘Sapadores’ fire department welcomed 17 new firefighters on September 6.
The ceremony was part of the celebrations of Faro’s Municipal Day and was attended by Mayor Rogério Bacalhau and Regional Commander of Emergency and Civil Protection in the Algarve, Vítor Vaz Pinto.
In his welcoming speech to the new firefighters, the commander extended his greetings to the new recruits and expressed his appreciation for “the resilience and professionalism of these men.” Vaz Pinto also acknowledged “the municipality’s investment in strengthening the intervention capacity of the department” which now boasts a total of 56 firefighters in its active roster.
Meanwhile, Bacalhau stressed that “this investment ensures that the safety of people and properties in the town of Faro is now further strengthened.”
‘Bombeiros Sapadores’ are a special type of professional firefighters in Portugal, different from the volunteer corps.
These 17 new firefighters were trained at the School of the Regiment of Sapadores Bombeiros de Lisboa (Lisbon Firefighters) and the National Firefighters School.
Says Faro Council, the training encompassed both theoretical and practical components, totalling more than 1,810 hours of instruction in disciplines such as urban firefighting, forest firefighting, basic techniques, administrative culture, command, manoeuvres, pre-hospital care, and more.
The final months of training were conducted at the Faro Fire Department, where the firefighter recruits were integrated into operational brigades.
