PALERMO (ITALPRESS) – Seventy pick-ups ready to fight forest fires were delivered this morning by the regional Civil Protection to as many voluntary organizations in the nine Sicilian provinces. The ceremony took place at the Foro Italico in Palermo in the presence of the President of the Region, Renato Schifani who symbolically handed over the keys to a vehicle, the general manager of the Sicilian Civil Protection department and some mayors of the municipalities involved.
“The pick-ups will be an important support in putting out fires, especially in the most remote and mountainous areas of the island, where interventions are more difficult, but they will also be used in patrolling and therefore for prevention, especially on red alert days when the risk of fires is greater,” explains the Region in a note.
The associations benefiting from the new vehicles were selected according to objective criteria which measured their operation, number of volunteers trained and ready for action, suitable storage spaces for the vehicles, participation in civil protection exercises and training courses, risk fires within 10 kilometers of the headquarters. The organizations will operate, as always, in support of the Regional Forestry Corps and the firefighters. Thanks to the new supply of vehicles, another 70 will be added to the 236 teams already operational in 2023 with 750 new volunteers who in the meantime have been trained by the regional Civil Protection. Among other things, this year the fire prevention campaign was brought forward by the Region to May 15th, extending the period in which the machinery to combat forest fires is operational to five and a half months.
“Let’s complete and integrate the strengthening of the fire prevention scheme, this program today is part of what we said in the chamber, that is, that we would strengthen our means, they arrived today, we will make sure to do it. We have already purchased 9 firefighting helicopters, we have strengthened our staff, we will do everything we can to ensure that we are not unprepared for any events that may occur – comments Schifani -. One thing is certain: the ecosystem has changed. We move from fires to drought, so the emergency risks becoming normality, but on this obviously with a sense of responsibility we must do our utmost and we will do so”.
– Photo Sicilian Region –
(ITALPRESS).
