Incendi in Sicily, Prisco: ‘More men and more resources needed to tackle the new emergencies’

Last Updated: August 9, 2023

Incendi in Sicilia, Prisco: «Più uomini e più mezzi per affrontare le nuove emergenze»

#Palermo
More men and new, efficient means to face future emergencies. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of the Interior, Emanuele Prisco, goes to Sicily to address one of the hottest issues – if we can call it that – in recent weeks on the island: at the provincial headquarters of the fire brigade in Palermo, the Undersecretary met with the heads of the provincial command, Deputy Mayor Carolina Varchi, Prefect Maria Teresa Cucinotta, and Senator Raoul Russo, addressing the fire situation that has enveloped Palermo and Eastern Sicily.

An emergency that has exposed all the vulnerabilities of the territory, which has seen late interventions in multiple areas due to the scarcity of men and outdated equipment. “The government is making significant investments to replace the fleet with more advanced vehicles, in order to make interventions safer and at the same time provide more efficient services to citizens,” said Prisco. “We are also considering a series of investments in facilities to make the presence of the fire brigade more widespread throughout the territory.”

These measures would certainly help increase the autonomy of the region in responding to emergencies, which currently suffers from an estimated shortage of 400 personnel. “We are working on it,” emphasized the Undersecretary. “In the meantime, we have carried out an extraordinary reinforcement (1800 personnel nationwide), which has not been seen for years, reversing the negative trend of previous years.”

Certainly, there is a need to further strengthen Sicily to ensure autonomy of intervention, at least in the initial hours, although it should be noted that the firefighting teams engaged in the fight against fires in recent weeks have greatly benefited from the forest fire prevention agreement signed with the region, one of the most important protocols in Italy. For the government, therefore, autonomy of intervention is already a concrete reality in Sicily. “The Sicilian citizens are safe, but we can certainly do better,” Prisco emphasized. “The intention, within the resources of the State, is to provide more men and equipment to the fire brigade, whom we must thank: in those moments, everything is very complex, but the response has been efficient and characterized by great professionalism, determination, and courage. There are absolute excellences here, and the situation would have been worse without them.”

In short, the government promises to further adjust investments, further strengthening the Sicilian fire brigade. This goes hand in hand with stricter penalties for arsonists: “The government has already increased penalties for those who endanger natural life as well as the lives of citizens and businesses: we have increased penalties for arson.”