The president of the League of Portuguese Firefighters (LBP), António Nunes, defended this Sunday the creation of an independent technical commission to prepare the investigation into the accident with a firefighting vehicle in Odemira.
“In a situation like this and with some alarm being created, perhaps it is worth rethinking whether it should not be an independent technical committee external to the car owner, which is ANEPC [Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil]”, preparing the investigation into the accident”, stated the person in charge.
António Nunes was speaking to the Lusa agency in Odemira, in the district of Beja, on the sidelines of the wake of firefighter Dinis Conceição, who died following the vehicle crash that occurred on Wednesday in that Alentejo municipality.
Recalling that ANEPC has already carried out an investigation, the president of the ANEPC pointed out that this investigation is carried out by “the entity that owns the vehicle, by the entity that created the specifications for its purchase and by the entity that received it”.
“I have no doubt about the independence of the inspectors who are carrying out the audit, but we would perhaps like to see the situation, as there are independent technical commissions for other situations”, highlighted the president of the League.
This case, highlighted Antonio Nunes, is “a situation of increasingly growing doubt” and, with an independent commission investigating the causes, “perhaps there would be a guarantee that the conclusions would not be subject to any type of questioning”.
“We may run the risk of other associations, if this pressure continues, whether on social media or even in the media, casting doubt on the safety of the vehicle”, he warned, as the lot to which the accident vehicle belonged had a total of 57 cars.
According to the official, the League has a record of 255 firefighters killed on duty since 1980, which represents “a very high number, which cannot be compared with any other security force”.
“The League came to offer condolences to the commander, the fire department, the family and, above all, to represent all the firefighters in Portugal, who are sad”, he added.
The crash of this Alentejo corporation’s vehicle took place on Wednesday night, on the municipal road that connects Boavista dos Pinheiros to Saboia, in Odemira, leaving five firefighters injured, between 37 and 43 years old, four of which were serious and one was minor.
Firefighter Dinis Conceição, 38 years old, had been helitransported to Hospital de São José, in Lisbon, but ended up dying on Friday. He was a professional firefighter for the corporation and belonged to a permanent intervention team (EIP), made up of five members.
Two firefighters remain hospitalized, one at Portimão Hospital and the other in Santa Maria, in Lisbon, while the other two have already been discharged from hospital.
On Wednesday, this EIP was called to intervene “in an authorized fire” in Savoy, which “got out of control”, and the operators were returning home when the firefighting vehicle crashed, according to the president of the Humanitarian Firefighters Association Volunteers from Odemira, António Camilo.
The Emergency and Civil Protection Services Inspection opened an investigation into the road accident, on the very day of the accident, a source from the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) told Lusa, explaining that it was a procedure carried out whenever There is an accident involving a fire engine.
Luís Oliveira also indicated that inspections were underway by ANEPC and the GNR Criminal Investigation Center for Road Accidents and said he wanted to know the expert report to determine whether the crash “was caused by a mechanical deficiency or human error”.
According to the commander, “there were never any safety complaints” regarding this vehicle, but the vehicle would be collected “on Monday for minor technical rectifications”, which did not imply “its safety”.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the Minister of Internal Administration, Margarida Blasco, also arrived at the firefighter’s wake, but at the entrance they did not make statements to journalists.
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