SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 29 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Today, Monday, the Tenerife Island Council, the Fire Prevention and Extinction and Rescue Consortium, the Mapfre Foundation, and the Professional Association of Firefighters (APTB) launched Fire Prevention Week 2024. This initiative will be implemented across the 21 municipalities of the island that are part of the Firefighters Consortium.
Present at the event were the President of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila; the Councillor for the Natural Environment, Sustainability, Security, and Emergencies, Blanca Pérez; the Councillor for the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Vice-President of the Tenerife Firefighters Consortium, Gladys de León; the representative of the Mapfre Foundation, María José López; the Island Director of Security and Emergencies and President of the Firefighters Consortium, Iván Martín, the Chief Officer of the Consortium and member of the APTB, Florencio López, and the Brifor operation technician, Rodrigo Barbadillo.
Dávila stressed the unprecedented effort in combating fires, with a substantial mobilization of human resources and equipment. Emphasizing that prevention, awareness, and training are crucial for the people of Tenerife to respond promptly and effectively in emergency situations.
“It is essential that everyone, regardless of age, is educated and prepared. Hence, the significance of Fire Prevention Week, commencing today and extending to various municipalities on the island,” she added.
Dávila stated, “Residential fires pose a significant risk not only to property but primarily to lives. The goal is to raise awareness in society about prevention, transforming the people of Tenerife into the ‘civil firefighters of Tenerife’. Everyone must be committed to knowing how to act in life-threatening situations that endanger our lives, properties, and the surrounding environment.”
María José López highlighted the Mapfre Foundation’s dedication to helping society prevent fires and enhance the quality of life and well-being of the Canarian community.
The Mapfre Foundation conducts an annual study on fire-related mortality in Spain. The latest data from 2022 reported 235 deaths due to fires in homes, with 175 resulting from faults in electrical installations.
Blanca Pérez and Iván Martín expressed their appreciation for the collaboration of the Foundation and APTB in the campaign, which involves outreach activities focusing on raising awareness and providing training in preventing domestic, sports, recreational, and road accidents.
Gladys de León thanked everyone for launching the activity in Santa Cruz, specifically at the esplanade of Avenida Marítima. She underlined that prevention is a shared effort to ensure that the public follows the correct procedures during fires.
Florencio López shared that the Firefighters Consortium aims to utilise this experience to educate the population on avoiding household fires, preventing accidents on beaches, in natural environments, and traffic incidents. Additionally, teaching individuals how to assist or support firefighters in their operations.
López stressed that Prevention Week is crafted to address this concern by communicating prevention guidelines to the public. “It is crucial for them to understand how we, as firefighters, respond to various emergencies and how they can contribute, assist, protect, and handle emergencies with their actions.”
FIRE PREVENTION WEEK.
Fire Prevention Week 2024 begins in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and will later move to municipalities including La Laguna, El Rosario, Arafo, Candelaria, Güímar, Arico, Granadilla, San Miguel, Adeje, Arona, Guía de Isora, Icod de los Vinos, La Guancha, Los Realejos, La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz, El Sauzal, Tacoronte, Garachico, and Tegueste. In 2024, activities will be held in the 11 municipalities with the lowest population. The other ten municipalities within the Tenerife Firefighters Consortium will participate in 2025.
The programme includes the ‘Evacuation House’, an inflatable structure filled with artificial smoke to simulate poor visibility during a fire. Participants practice evacuating a home in this scenario. Additionally, attendees can learn CPR techniques and how to handle hoses and extinguishers used by firefighters.
The goal is to promote a prevention culture and educate citizens on essential measures to undertake during such incidents, like responding to kitchen fires or understanding the risks associated with overloaded electrical sockets or incorrect use of heaters and radiators.
Workshops on fire extinguisher usage, kitchen fire procedures, CPR, and other prevention measures will be conducted. Moreover, talks and conferences on prevention will be delivered by the Tenerife Firefighters Consortium, offering advice on prevention in domestic, grassland and forest fires, road accidents, hiking, nature activities, beach and water sports. Finally, an emergency resource exhibition will be organised, showcasing resources from the Tenerife Firefighters Consortium, Cabildo’s Brifor operation, Local Police, and the Red Cross.
FIRE VICTIMS.
According to the 2022 Fire Victims Study, Spain recorded 50 home fires daily, a 6% increase from 2021. In total, 235 individuals lost their lives in fires, with the majority being over 64 years old. In the Canary Islands, two fatalities were reported due to home fires last year, both in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The living room was identified as the most perilous area, accounting for 41.2% of fatalities, followed by the bedroom (29.8%) and the kitchen (17.5%). Electrical fires and heat-producing sources like stoves and heaters were the primary causes of these incidents.
