PHOTOS: Sergio Betancort.
The Security and Emergency Consortium of the Cabildo of Lanzarote was in luck this Thursday. It was celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Lanzarote Fire Station at its headquarters in Argana. The anniversary was commemorated in an event attended by the President of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, and also the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, among other authorities. The firefighters showed a video that summarized the more than 18,000 actions they have carried out over this quarter of a century.
Before this event, which was also attended by authorities such as the president of the Consortium and councilor of the Cabildo, Echedey Eugenio, and the mayor of Arrecife, José Montelongo, the parish priest of the church of San Ginés, Miguel Hernández, officiated a mass. Then came the commemorative act, in which Pedro San Ginés wanted to express to the firefighters his "gratitude for the vocational work they have", in addition to showing himself "proud" of the work they do. In that same sense, the Canarian president, Fernando Clavijo, thanked them for being able to share this anniversary with them, while praising their "courage, their vocation for service and their dedication to the citizens".
Recognitions to retired firefighters
Throughout the anniversary, recognitions were given to two retired firefighters for their work, Juan Rafael Rodríguez Perdomo and Rafael Hernán Vicente, although the latter was received by his wife, Begoña Hernández, because her husband was indisposed. The collaborator Benjamín Nieves Delgado was also distinguished. All of them received a sculpture, as a reminder of their work, made by the artist Rigoberto Camacho.
Since this service began operating on January 15, 1991, with 12 firefighters, this body had carried out 18,213 actions until the end of 2015. These have been growing every year: from 106 interventions in 1991 to 1,029 that were recorded in 2015.
Before the existence of the fire station, if an incident occurred, the Local Police of Arrecife and the mechanics of the Mobile Park had a van to water the gardens to extinguish any fire. From the Consortium they explain that the "proof" of the "need" for a fire station came the very day after its inauguration, when they had to put out a major fire in Playa Blanca. It was a restaurant, which burned with several butane cylinders inside, which caused a large explosion. They did it, they explain, with the uniform they had, which consisted of a mechanic's suit.
That same year, 1991, they also collaborated with Fuerteventura, providing material to the Majorera troops to extinguish a fire in La Oliva. In 1997, the staff was expanded by eight more troops, going to 20 firefighters, but they still did not have any administrative staff to attend to emergencies by telephone. This deficiency was solved in November of '98, when personnel were hired for the central office. Formerly they were located in the Mobile Park, located near their current headquarters, to which they moved in 2008.
Help in fires, rescues, accidents, floods and even plagues
Over the years they have carried out multiple interventions, most of them related to the extinction of fires, but they have also acted in floods, rescues, traffic accidents and even in alleviating the effects of a locust plague that in 2004 brought more than 2 million specimens of this insect to the island.
From the Consortium they remember within the "most spectacular" interventions the extinction of the Gran Hotel in 1994, which lasted several days, or the floods of 2012, where they rescued several people who were trapped in vehicles flooded under some flooded bridges.
Currently, the service has 34 troops between corporals and firefighters, as well as 21 more places distributed among technical personnel, emergency agents, administrative and service personnel.
Its budget for the 2016 financial year amounts to 4,059,283 euros. This year it is also planned to create a delegation in Yaiza, the so-called South Park. "A priority service due to the population increase and the distance to the south of the island," they point out. This infrastructure already has a defined space in Uga, the so-called Casa del Médico, which is ceded by the Yaiza City Council.