The Humanitarian Association of Voluntary Firefighters of Mealhada intends to open a School for Infantes and Cadets, aimed at children and young people aged between six and 16, and, for this purpose, registration is now open under the motto “To be the true hero, we have your uniform!”. Interested parties can request more information via email at [email protected].
«It was a challenge launched by some members of the active body who, in addition to considering that this makes sense, above all expressed their intention to take responsibility for assuming this “valence”», Nuno João, commander of the Fire Department, told our newspaper. da Mealhada, ensuring that this attitude represents «commitment» to something that will also represent «work and investment for the association».
With the intention that this school can start operating next September, with the beginning of the new school year, activities are initially expected to take place every fortnight. «We want to give them a taste for firefighters and start to attract them to this type of volunteering that is so specific», explained commander Nuno João, ensuring that the activities «will obviously be related to the activities of the association, but in which all Participants will have a uniform. I think that, much more than thinking that this could be the beginning of a firefighter’s life, the focus will also be on transmitting useful knowledge to them».
The demand until then, according to the Mealhada Fire Commander, “came mostly from parents who are also firefighters. Now we will have the opportunity to see what civil society will also embrace».
The Mealhada corporation is going through the same volunteering “crisis” as other humanitarian associations in the country. «We have more than six dozen elements in the active body. Two Permanent Intervention Teams operate daily from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, which means that, every night, we have five volunteers at the barracks providing the service. Doing the math, this means that each of these volunteers sleeps three nights a month in the barracks, which adds up to a month away from home after a year. If we add to this, the volunteers who work in shifts, then we just need to think about the serious and great commitment they establish and fulfill», also highlighted commander Nuno João.
Text by Mónica Sofia Lopes
Photography Facebook “Firefighters Mealhada”
