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Málaga Firefighters Denounce Lack of Regulation for Reinforcement Activation

Málaga's fire department highlights the absence of a clear protocol for mobilizing additional personnel during simultaneous emergencies.

Generic image of a firefighter with blurred emergency lights.
IA

Generic image of a firefighter with blurred emergency lights.

Sources from the Málaga fire department have denounced the lack of clear instructions regulating the activation of reinforcements, which led to stations being left unattended during the coincidence of two fires.

The fire service in Málaga capital faced significant pressure this Monday due to the coincidence of two considerable fires. One of them, which destroyed Le Grand Café and forced the evacuation of the Ibis Centro hotel, pushed the available resources to their limit. According to department sources, for approximately 20 minutes, all fire crews were deployed on the streets, leaving the stations "empty".
Andrés Millán, spokesperson for the Andalusian Firefighters Union (SAB), described the situation as "irresponsible" and pointed out that the main problem is not just the shortage of resources, but the absence of a protocol dictating how to activate reinforcements in situations of simultaneous emergencies. "If there had been a third fire or any other emergency, there would have been no firefighters to act," he lamented.
The city has six crews and a total of 47 personnel. During the Ibis hotel fire, four crews were active. Later, at 7:10 AM, a second fire in Portada Alta mobilized the remaining two crews. In the afternoon, as flames reignited at the hotel, two more crews were dispatched, totaling six, made possible by the arrival of reinforcements from the next shift.
The "emptiness" reportedly occurred between 5:10 PM and 7:30 AM, when personnel from the next shift arrived, having advanced their start time by an hour due to the staff shortage. Municipal sources assured that the service was "covered at all times," although they admitted that part of the incoming shift's crews were arriving at the time of the second fire.
Millán criticized that the activation of reinforcements was carried out via a mobile message and phone calls, rather than an established protocol, comparing it to weather alerts. "Sending an urgent message at 6:15 AM due to staff shortage is irresponsible. It's not the way to proceed," he stated, adding that joining these reinforcements is "voluntary" as it is not regulated.
In addition to the personnel shortage, Millán highlighted the scarcity of intervention suits due to the termination of the contract with the decontamination company and delays in the new one starting work. "There are firefighters who don't have suits to intervene," he said, indicating that even spare suits have run out.
Another persistent problem is the 42-meter aerial ladder, which due to a software glitch, only reaches 30 meters, limiting rescue capabilities in tall buildings.
Málaga firefighters have been on strike since March 2017. The main demands, such as reducing working hours to match other municipal officials, challenging the published regulations, and reclassifying the collective (still pending for sergeants, non-commissioned officers, and some firefighters), remain unresolved.

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