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The mayor of Águilas has raised serious concerns about the state of the town's fire station, warning that the municipality doesn't have enough resources to guarantee safety, particularly during the summer months when the local population swells considerably.

 

Mayor Cristóbal Casado described the situation as "very alarming," speaking outside the Águilas fire station on Tuesday June 30 alongside Civil Protection Councillor José Luis Moreno.

 

Three vehicles are currently out of service, two having failed their roadworthiness inspections and a third due to a breakdown, adding to what Mr Casado said was an already well-documented shortage of equipment, including the lack of a ladder truck.

 

Two replacement vehicles sent by the regional government are more than twenty years old and, according to the town hall, come with significant safety deficiencies of their own. Mr Moreno explained that the BUL 2000, BUL 1000 and BRP vehicles used for fighting forest fires have all been taken out of service, mentioning a recent fire on Calle Luna where firefighters had to rely on one of the ageing replacements.

 

Both Mr Casado and Mr Moreno described it as "incomprehensible" that the regional government's replacement vehicles fail to meet even minimum safety requirements, reportedly lacking seatbelts, suffering gearbox problems and having faults in the systems used to secure intervention equipment during deployments.

 

"It is unacceptable that, instead of providing solutions, vehicles are being sent that also do not meet the necessary conditions to provide a safe and efficient service," they said.

 

Mayor Casado pointed out that Águilas council has been pushing the regional government for a proper solution for years.

 

"This is not an isolated problem, but a situation of neglect that has been ongoing for many years and that puts at risk both the safety of the firefighters and that of all the residents and visitors of Águilas," he said, calling for urgent action to provide the station with the staff and equipment needed to run a safe and effective service.