No fire fighting vehicles, even less those recently purchased, is still in storage. All are placed on the Calabrian territory and in action or in any case ready for use in case of need.
The Calabria Region made it known, in a note which sheds light on the accusations launched by the regional secretariat of the Democratic Party.
“With words and arguments that denote the clear will to exploit dramatic events – says the Regional Councilor for Forestry, Gianluca Gallo – they rely on press agencies for unfounded declarations: following terrible days, which saw the burning of Southern Italy and other Mediterranean countries, the suspicion creeps in that Calabria has been left to watch the flames advance: one should answer using the same yardstick, it should be concluded that in Campania or Puglia, Pd-led regions devastated by fires, the blame for the fires should be attributed to those regional governments “. “For my part – continues Gallo – I feel instead the duty to thank citizens and mayors of the Calabrian territories affected by the flames, who together with the forces of order, the Fire Brigade and the personnel of the Calabria Verde firefighting teams were the true heroes of a civil resistance in the face of the army of criminal arsonists who for days brought our land to its knees, setting thousands of hectares up in smoke. In recent years, the Regional Council has strengthened the equipment available to Calabria Verde, signing operational agreements with the Fire Brigade and the Forest Carabinieri, as well as using cutting-edge technological tools. No vehicle, even in these difficult days, has stood still”.
“On the regional territory – explains the Councilor for Forestry – 440 units are active daily in 62 Aib stations, each equipped with a vehicle with a water reserve. None of these, contrary to what has been rashly stated, is inactive: some are simply kept in reserve to be moved quickly, in case of need or breakdown, as happened for example yesterday in Verbicaro, on the occasion of a fire”.
“To prevent any further attempts to bend issues related to the fire-fighting system to political propaganda logics – Gallo also specifies – it should be clarified that starting from Monday Calabria Verde will pay the fourteenth month’s salary: once the indispensable resources have been found, the related administrative procedures. Also in this case, a fact that is far from obvious, after the cuts made to transfers for Calabrian forestation by the national governments in office between 2020 and 2021 “.