The Tenerife Fire Extinction Consortium has been awarded with Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals to the 73 firefighters with 30 (14), 25 (6) and 15 (53) years of service, respectively. A whopping 1,145 years in absolute numbers. A lifetime, or rather 73 lives of commitment and professionalism to respond to the needs of the island society. The tribute, pending for two years due to the pandemic, has become a reality on March 8. It’s the day of Patron of the Body, Saint John of God, and also of the Woman -there is only one, Luisa, who was not present yesterday-. The ideal setting for an exciting event held at Parque de San Benito in La Laguna in which the honorees have been supported by their families. The event was presided over by the President of the council, Peter Martin, who was accompanied by the Minister of Natural Environment Management, Isabel García; the insular director of Security, Rubén Fernández, and the Chief Officer of the Florencio López Consortium. He acted as master of ceremonies, the manager, José Vargas.
Today they are recognized for the effort, the days of sweat, and above all those days in which one has the feeling, not only of having done the job well, but of having contributed something to this society, to families with difficulties, to situations extreme, or to go to accidents and transmit security and tranquility in those difficult moments, “said the president of the Cabildo. Pedro Martín assured that being able to count on a team like the Firefighters Consortium in Tenerife “is very important”. The president pointed out that in the last volcanic episode on the island of La Palma he felt “great pride in seeing the badge that said Firefighters of Tenerife”, because, he said, “the feeling they conveyed was of security, both to the president of the council of La Palma like the people who were there disoriented, not knowing what to do and with enormous uncertainty; and you transmitted confidence and security”. The president concluded by stating that “we can say that we have a body of the highest quality that has nothing to envy to any of the best devices anywhere in Spain”.
The Minister of Management of the Natural Environment and Security, Isabel García, congratulated the honorees and pointed out that “today is International Women’s Day, it would be desirable for more women to choose to work in this body, a profession that has historically been masculinized. I am sure that, sooner or later, they will occupy space between these rows; and I will be happy to know that on March 8 they can also receive medals for having served 15, 25 or 30 years as firefighters”. For his part, Rubén Fernández, island director of Security, sent a message of support and stressed that in these 15, 25 and 30 years these firefighters will have lived hundreds of experiences, good and bad, and stressed that “it is important that they know that in all they have always deposited the energy and professionalism that corresponds to them”. During the celebration, the work of all the staff of the Consortium was thanked for their dedication, effort and commitment to citizenship.
Three decades of commitment
For his part, Jesús Marrero, representative of the winners, thanked his colleagues for their thirty years of service and assured that a piece of his medal belongs to all of them. The chief fire officer of Tenerife, Florencio López and the manager of the José Laureano Vargas Consortium also participated in the ceremony. In the first row, in front of the presidential table, the presence of the five Heads of Parks stood out -Santa Cruz, La Laguna La Orotava, Icod de los Vinos and San Miguel de Abona: Ibrahim Ben Mohamed, Álvaro Afonso, Jesús Marrero, Jesús Domínguez and Andres Perdomo. The distinguished received their medals by groups. First, the 53 bronze medals: (15 years of service), corresponding to the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. Subsequently, the 6 silver medals (25 years of service), for the year 2020. Finally, the 14 gold medals (30 years of service) of 2020 and 2021.
He wasn’t ready but he looked like it. Not even the best script would have included it. In the middle of the tribute an emergency occurred and the guards had to leave the park. Firefighters in action and pure adrenaline. Races, hasty loading of material, getting into the vehicle at full speed and siren at full decibels. Before, just in the opposite direction, a group of soldiers had arrived from Santa Cruz to collect their awards after responding to an alarm. The president of the Cabildo and the counselor mentioned what happened in their speeches. not on purpose
The Consortium
The Tenerife Firefighters Consortium has five professional Firefighters Parks and coordinates 9 volunteers, 44 firefighters remain on permanent duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Firefighters of Tenerife has high technical performance vehicles for firefighting and rescue, capable of reaching any corner of the island territory. Coordination is centralized from a dedicated post located in room 112 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In addition to firefighters and managers, the technical staff for advice on fire prevention, as well as support for administration and logistics tasks, complete a team of nearly 250 people.
Balance of 2021
Ten specialists have already joined the team of professional Firefighters of Tenerife as new personnel. The entity’s budget, which has celebrated twenty years, will exceed 21 million euros this year, 6% more than the previous one. This increase will be linked to growth in personnel, new parks and vehicles. The actions in 2021 were more than 3,700 with an increase of 1.81% compared to 2020. Of total, 1,649 were fires themselves; 682 rescues; 503 door openings and 213 interventions in traffic accidents. Regarding the fire, 396 sources of uncontrolled burning of stubble were extinguished, which continues to be the cause of more alerts; 241 in homes; 245 in dumpsters and 234 in vehicles. Through the 112 Coordination Center, 7,111 emergency calls were received in 2021, which represents an increase of 3.38% compared to the previous year. These calls had an average response time of 14 seconds.
