Six helicopters of the Generalitat’s Forest Fire Service stayed at their bases during the first two days of the Dana emergency, while the regional government sought assets from the rest of Spain. Unions representing the service condemned the underutilization of the Generalitat’s own resources. The helicopters only began to be used on Wednesday after the first posts on social media highlighted the issue.
As professionals endured the situation, the CC OO union criticized the deployment of the Military Emergency Unit from across the country, along with the provincial forest brigades, ground forest-fire units, airlifted teams from other regions, and volunteers. Officials from the Department of Justice and Interior said the helicopters had been mobilized. They noted that the mobilized helicopters are those cleared for rescues and were dispatched as soon as they could perform the services they are intended for.
This situation sits within a broader political debate about the Consell’s decision to dismantle the Valencian Emergency Unit, arguing that it would create duplications since municipalities and the fire consortia already covered it. Firefighters argue that they were completely underutilized during the crisis management. A union member lamented that when the rain began, they were sent home in the afternoon and they were not called until Wednesday to help clear mud.
The forest firefighters’ corps maintains six helicopter units, two for each of the three provinces in the Community. On Tuesday and Wednesday they stayed at their bases, prepared and equipped, and at no time did they need to take off. It was not until around mid-day today that they began to be used, following the early social media complaints.
Resources from Other Territories
They point out that during the first two days of the Dana emergency, air resources from different parts of Spain were contributed to support rescue operations, as road transport was severely hampered by the storm affecting Valencia province.
From the CC OO Firefighters section, it was stated that the Generalitat Forest Fire Service is once again being deliberately underutilized by those who manage emergencies in the Valencia Community.
The vast majority of personnel were withdrawn at the end of their shift as if it were a normal day. On Wednesday only a few units were active in the emergency, while the rest of the devices remained idle. Yesterday there was not a massive redeployment of forest firefighters to the damaged areas, with many volunteers assisting emergency services and not being called by the Valencia Consortium.
The forest firefighters are made up of 56 units in the Valencia Community, totaling up to 900 professionals who could join emergency teams and work in three shifts to provide round-the-clock reinforcement. The workers emphasize that the corps has extensive experience handling these scenarios.
They also point to failures in prevention services, noting that nearly 300 liters per square meter fell on Monday and that it was clear that all that water would eventually exit somewhere.