– CIVIL PROTECTION
Members of the Civil Protection General Directorate have called for the establishment of their own body, after the Parliament approved the proposal on January 30 with the support of PSC, Junts, PP, Comuns, CUP and AC. They have expressed regret that no timeline has been defined since then: «Catalonia needs a robust and prepared system to respond in real-time to emergency situations.»
This was stated on Wednesday at a press conference in the Parliament by one of the two spokespersons, Jaume López, who appeared alongside Noemí Sans. Sans lamented that, despite working as a separate body with their corresponding guards to provide quality service, no progress has been made in this regard.
«Our work is not administrative, it is operational, technical, and immediate,» emphasized Sans, adding that they work closely with Mossos d’Esquadra, Sistema d’Emergències Mèdiques (SEM), Bombers, and Agents Rurals in hundreds of emergencies per year. She reproached the Government for not providing legal recognition regarding their functions.
On the other hand, both have shown particular concern about the Catalan Operational Coordination Center (CECAT), as 95% of the room chiefs are temporary, and they have warned that by 2026, 70% of these workers will have to leave.
In this regard, they have alerted about the «loss of accumulated experience» that will occur with their departure in incidents such as fires, floods, evacuations, and serious accidents, which will also affect the professionals in the territorial operation, who directly deal with emergencies.
Furthermore, they have highlighted the need to establish their own body in the face of the challenges posed by climate change and increasing risks, as they believe that more extreme and recurrent episodes will occur. Therefore, they argue that a team is necessary to preserve knowledge, strengthen structures, and ensure that Catalonia will continue to have an «effective, modern, and allied» service.