Getafe firefighters cry out against their station, 'the worst in the region'

The Firefighters' Union and the mayor, Sara Hernández, denounce the state of Getafe Fire Station, with breakdowns and lack of space, while the Community of Madrid raises the fee by 70%.

The Getafe Fire Station has suffered years of lack of investment and the unions describe it as the worst in the Community of Madrid. The mayor, Sara Hernández, has denounced that the new building, promised by the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso for the last quarter of this year, will not meet deadlines due to the lack of procedures such as the archaeological study.

During a visit to the station, the representative of the Firefighters' Union, Israel Naveso, stated that they are "tired of being promised that the new station will be built and we still know nothing." Naveso pointed out that missing administrative documentation will prevent the start of construction this year, and they expect that it will not begin until mid-next year.

We are tired of being promised that the new station will be built and we still know nothing. In fact, today we are learning that there is a lot of missing administrative documentation that will prevent the start of the work in the last quarter of this year. But we are predicting that it will probably not start until mid-next year," Naveso declared.

Among the deficiencies faced by the firefighters are doors that have been broken for months, an insufficient gym, lack of space for equipment, small changing rooms, safety violations in the storage of jackets, sinking of the outdoor area, no lounge area, and a helipad closed for not meeting regulations. During the visit, it was also confirmed that one of the trucks is missing one of its doors.

The mayor has announced that she will bring the reversal of the increase in the fire extinguishing fee, which the Community of Madrid has unilaterally raised, to the next plenary session in September. With the increase, Getafe will go from paying 3,000,000 euros annually to over 5,200,000, a 70% increase.

While the Community of Madrid is going to increase the fire extinguishing fee it charges to all residents of Getafe by 70%, that money is not being invested in the needs that the firefighters are denouncing for the station and the equipment," claimed Sara Hernández.

Last January, the High Court of Justice of Madrid ruled in favour of the Firefighters' Union in its complaint against the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Employment for diverting about 40 million euros from insurance premiums between 2019 and 2023. The court established that the Community must allocate the revenue from the firefighters' fee solely to investments.

The local government wonders whether the new increase in the fee will be invested in improving the current situation or if they will have to keep waiting for the new station, which has been delayed for 18 years.