Malaga to expand fire department workforce from 256 to 400 by 2028

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Smoke detectors in the kitchen of the Le Grand Café restaurant could have prevented the fire on Monday from spreading unstoppably, the mayor believes

Pilar R. Quirós

Malaga

The aftermath of the fire in the Ibis hotel in the centre of Malaga remains fresh in the minds of locals due to the ferocity of the blaze and the time it took to extinguish it. The incident was naturally one of the main topics of discussion during the local council meeting on Thursday.

While the opposition, criticised the lack of resources, safety councillor Avelino Barrionuevo said that the number of firefighters would increase considerably within two years.

Currently, Malaga has 256 firefighters, with 50 working each shift. This is why, when the two fires at the Ibis hotel and in the Puerto de la Torre district occurred almost simultaneously, the department required reinforcement.

Union representative Andrés Millán confirmed that Malaga lacks enough resources. He criticised the usage of WhatsApp as a communication system and the outdated equipment.

Other complaints included the lack of equipment decontamination and the fact that, during recent fires, attempts to communicate via radio were a "complete disaster".

Avelino Barrionuevo explained that there are currently 50 firefighters per shift, but that next year that number will increase to 60 thanks to the 50 academy students who will join after graduating. Three nurses will also join the workforce.

"There will be 309 firefighters in a month," Barrionuevo said, adding that the number will grow to 400 by 2028 thanks to the increase in public job offers.

Barrionuevo apologised, explaining that the staff increase hadn't been as high as desired, but pointed out that the general state budget determines the replacement rates (the number of new firefighters replacing those who have retired).

According to the councillor, 60 firefighters per shift are enough to contain daily operations such as small fires or burning containers. In addition, he said that they expand the workforce for events like Semana Santa and the Feria de Abril.

In the case of extraordinary incidents like the Ibis fire, the fire department can call for reinforcement, as two crews need to remain available for other incidents in the city.

The municipal budget has allocated 14 million euros for the purchase of 28 vehicles, all types of PPE (regulation clothing), ambulances, SUVs and equipment. Regarding the new digital communications system, Barrionuevo stated that he could understand there might be a lack of experience using the radio and that training courses can improve that.

The opposition asked the mayor to meet with firefighters to "resolve the labour dispute". Councillors from other parties all agreed in their criticism against the ruling team and urged the mayor to increase both workforce and resources.

In response, De la Torre said that he had noticed improvements in recent years, including some in firefighters' working conditions.

Regarding the Ibis fire, he stated that one lesson from the fire was that if there had been smoke detectors in the kitchen, the fire would have been tackled half an hour or an hour earlier.