While this year could already be classified as historic in terms of fires, with tens of thousands of hectares burned across the country, the debate rages on the working conditions of firefighters in certain regions.
With our correspondent in Madrid, Diane Cambon
Precariousness is the word that comes up most often to describe the work of firefighters in Spain. And this is particularly the case in the region of Castile and Leon, where the forest fires are the most virulent with nearly 6% of the territory having just gone up in smoke.
It was in this region of northwestern Spain that a firefighter died on Sunday July 17. during his service “, said the authorities in a press release. Daniel Gullón Varas participated in the “ fire fighting device deployed in Losacio, in the Zamora region. A day of mourning was declared on Monday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reacted on Twitter shortly after the announcement, saying he shared the ” sadness » and giving his « affection to the family and colleagues of the brigadier who died last night working to extinguish the fire in Ferreruela de Tábara “.
A minimum wage of 1,300 euros gross
But after the death of this 60-year-old firefighter, while trying to put out a fire, the debate rages in Spain on the working conditions of these brigadiers, most of whom are hired only in the summer months. In winter, they have to do odd jobs to earn a living.
Their salary as firefighters is not fabulous either: a minimum wage of 1,300 euros gross. Not to mention the working conditions: 15 hours in a row with outdated equipment, poor quality gloves, non-approved helmets and limited resources to deal with the flames.
The canadairs fleet is managed by a private company which hires aircraft drivers bit by bit. The right-wing region announced that it was going to modify the fire protocol which dates from 1999, not being adapted to the new climatic conditions due to global warming.
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