The Humanitarian Association of Voluntary Firefighters of Caldas das Taipas (AHBVCT) celebrates its 137th anniversary this Wednesday, but has already been celebrating it since April 26th, with the inauguration of the photo exhibition, about the last 50 years of the institution. On Tuesday night, the firefighters’ auditorium hosted an event in which the management distinguished 29 members with 50 years of membership, starting with José das Neves Machado, president of the institution between 1993 and 2021.
The honorees were awarded a diploma and new membership cards, one of the novelties presented on a night that began with a demonstration of basic life support on stage and ended with a performance by the Academic Choir of the University of Minho. AHBVCT also distinguished three firefighters with 25 years of service – José Nelson Martins, deputy chief, Isaías Gomes (Firefighter of Primeira) and Henrique Fernandes (Firefighter of Terceira) – and displayed the two vehicles acquired in 2023, which will be blessed this Wednesday : the logistical support vehicle and the emergency ambulance, the target of a fundraising campaign deserving of the thanks of the board president.
“All the equipment it has makes it a fully prepared ambulance for people to feel safe. I thank the community and the firefighters who were in the parishes on the weekends, asking. This commemorative concert is a way of repaying their availability to help our corporation”, highlighted Luís Soares.
The association leader and also president of the Caldelas Board recalled that it is the “first time” that firefighters “mark the anniversary in a broader way”, something to continue in the coming years. “This is the first edition of an event that must be perpetuated in the future, not only because we honor our best. The anniversary of an institution should be like the anniversary of our personal lives, a celebration and a gathering of our families and friends”, he stressed, affirming the organizational and financial stability of the institution.
Another intention for the coming years is to honor members with 25 and 40 years of membership, which could already be more than 1,500. And the modernization of the institution is another priority, in terms of its functioning and its image. The current AHBVCT symbol will remain, but the institution’s other work units will have a different logo.
“Without prejudice to the logo that has been with us for many years, which was not always this one, we will have, in the other work units of our institution, the swimming pools, the museum, certified training with a specific, more contemporary image, to communicate a value future and progress”, he said, highlighting the need to update the member database in this regard; For now, the firefighters only have the contact details of 700 members out of a total of around 7,000.
The vice-president of the Municipal Council of Guimarães, Adelina Paula Pinto, praised the “excellent work” of the corporation in its area of action, with “a contemporary vision in the training of firefighters” and “extreme attention to the citizen, to those who most needed in the most critical moments of life”, when everyone’s time seems so scarce.
“In this modern organizational vision, in this added value that it adds to the community, in the museum, in this training environment, let us look at those who stand out here for the work they do for all of us”, he stressed.
