Capable of accommodating up to 100 operatives simultaneously and 500 in rotation, the structure represents « an unprecedented response within the national context, designed to meet the physical and emotional demands of fighting increasingly frequent and intense forest fires », states the Red Cross in a press release.
The fire in Ponte da Barca, in the district of Viana do Castelo, started nearly a week ago and today, at 09:00, it continued with two active fronts in forest and brush areas, with 664 operatives, 227 vehicles, and one aerial means on the ground.
This blaze has already destroyed a vast area of the Peneda-Gerês National Park.
The REST SPACE functions as a support area where operatives can regain strength, receive health support, and return to service in better physical and psychological conditions.
According to Gonçalo Orfão, National Emergency Coordinator of CVP, this structure activated for the first time in Ponte da Barca was conceived « as a quick response focused on people, ensuring the comprehensive wellbeing of operatives ».
In the press note, the president of CVP, António Saraiva, considers that « responding to critical situations requires more than means. It requires coordination, mutual aid, and collective commitment ».
The REST SPACE is « an example of how cooperation between entities allows for creating solutions that care for those protecting the populations. Only with this coordination can we ensure effective and humane responses, both for operatives and affected communities », emphasizes António Saraiva.
The initiative is supported by Missão Continente, in a framework of cooperation between public and private entities, and fits into CVP’s humanitarian mission of caring for both the affected populations and the professionals who protect them.
According to António Saraiva, the Red Cross’s response in the current emergency scenario has been « robust and coordinated with the other civil protection agents ».
It has been present at rural fires in Ponte da Barca, Ponte de Lima, Arouca, Penamacor, Alcanede, Capela, and Recarei, mobilizing 48 rescue ambulances, 15 liaison officers, and about 100 operatives, who have already performed 22 on-site assists.
The initiative is part of a broader strategy by the Portuguese Red Cross to provide a humanitarian response to the challenges posed by climate change and the extreme phenomena that arise from it, such as large-scale rural fires.
As an auxiliary entity to public authorities, the CVP acts complementarily, strengthening existing means and offering integrated responses focused on people, from emergency assistance to the physical and emotional recovery of operatives.
