LISBON - 11/09/1999 - Lisbon firemen in the red

The Lisbon Fire Department is presently caught in a precarious financial position with the liabilities and debts of the department escalating on a daily basis. Requests made to the Lisbon City Hall have proven futile, while the National Association of Firemen have given little or no assistance to the firemen dedicated to serve and protect the country's capital.

A budgetary shortage of six million escudos (30.000 euros) and two immobilized rescue vehicles to boot, have all amounted to the oldest fire department in the country to be faced with unprecedented financial and operational complications.

Furthermore, the department purchased a mobile water container (fire engine) to the value of 18 million escudos (60.000), financial assistance from any state or private entity is as yet still forthcoming.

The Lisbon City Hall allows for an annual subsidy of eight million escudos (40.000 euros) to be attributed to this particular fire department. The amount spent on the annual salaries of the 15 permanent firemen at the station amounts to 20 million escudos (100.000 euros), the City Hall subsidy therefore covering less than five months of the department's expenditure with employees' salaries alone.

According to the standing fire chief of the department, César Martins, his department was forced to be burden with a bank loan two months ago in order to pay the wages, water and electricity accounts, telephone bills and the monthly rent of the station house.

Two of the department's ambulances are currently parked in the warehouse, unable to provide any emergency assistance in the event of a disaster striking the city.

The first ambulance was towed to the station's parking lot, when, upon reacting to an emergency call, crashed into an unmarked hole at a construction site. The accident occurred in April earlier this year.

The building contractor, according to César Martins, promised to pay for the damages incurred by the fire department, realising the potential predicament he and his company might be in, due to the visible lack of precautionary safety measures at the site. The following day, the contractor said that building inspectors from the City Hall said he would not have to pay any damages as the building in question was being built for the Lisbon City Hall's use. The damages would therefore be assumed by the City Hall.

Frequent inquiries made to the City Hall, even to Mayor João Soares, proved useless. About three weeks ago the Fire Department finally received a response from the Lisbon City Hall: "We have lost your process".

The 500.000 escudos (2.500 euros) cost to repair the ambulance was subsequently paid by the department three weeks ago. The City Hall has since preferred to refrain from making any comments.

Another ambulance, while transporting a patient in an emergency over two months ago, began to overheat, eventually causing extensive damage to the ambulance's engine. The insurance company with whom the vehicle is insured, have questioned the claim and are currently refusing to pay for any damage caused to the ambulance.

The National Association of Fire Departments (NAFD), replied to the initial request of the Lisbon Fire Department for financial assistance, stating that their annual budget had already been exceeded. Further negations, seemingly favourable, proved useless as NAFD responded by saying that it does not finance vehicles purchased through lease agreements, only reimbursing cash purchases.

The current [headquarters] station house of the Lisbon Fire Department was inaugurated in 1868 and is still used today. As a new station house would cost an estimated 300 million escudos (1.5 million euros), César Martins and his fellow firemen have consoled themselves to the fact that they will not be changing address in either the near or the distant future.