The Government delegate in Aragon, Fernando Beltrán, visited on Tuesday the detachment of the 43 group of the Air Force and Space at the Air Base of Saragossa, one of the units that participates in the National Forest Fire Fight Fight campaign. During the day, he has held an encounter with the crews and with the head of the detachment, Colonel Carlos Gómez, to learn first hand the available media and operational operation during the summer period.
The presence of these troops is part of the collaboration that the Ministry of Defense He has collaborates for more than 50 years in tasks of fire prevention, control and extinction, through the 43 group and the Emergency Military Unit (Ume). The campaign takes place from June 1 to October 30.
Currently, the 43 Group operates with 14 turns off, distributed in detachments located in Zaragoza, Pollensa, Santiago de Compostela, Salamanca, Malaga, Badajoz and Torrejón de Ardoz. These resources are complemented by the deployment of the UME, which has mobilized 1,400 military in direct interventions, supported by logistics units, coordination and more than 55 drones, reaching a total of about 3,000 people involved.
New media and strategic improvements
As reinforcement for this campaign, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) It has incorporated seven DHC 515 amphibian aircraft, with an investment of 375 million euros that also includes the modernization of current models. These aircraft will increase water discharge capacity from 6,000 to 7,000 liters, improving performance in extinction tasks.
The national device is completed with 53 aerial media, 10 BRIF brigades, 4 EPRIF equipment and 7 UMAP mobile units. To this is added the operational contingent during the winter, formed by 11 aircraft, 5 helitransported brigades and 3 units of analysis.
In addition, the Government has allocated 61 million euros of the recovery plan for infrastructure improvement in the ten BRIF bases, including new facilities such as Daroca, with the aim of optimizing resources and improving the working conditions of the staff.
According to official data, the BRIF intervene in 70% of the large forest fires and the air media are activated in 85% of cases, consolidating a quick and specialized response system against environmental emergencies.
