- The government delegate in Cantabria has presided, together with the Director General of Civil Protection, over the act of handing over recognition to 112 Cantabria and to an agent of the National Police and a neighbor for his action in the fire of the building of La Albericia in October 2024
The government delegate in Cantabria, Pedro Casares, has extolled the values of “solidarity, responsibility, humanity, commitment and dedication” of those who participate in the Civil Protection system and the “civic commitment” of many citizens who, without uniforms, contribute to “save lives”.
Casares highlighted this fact this Friday in his speech at the ceremony of awarding decorations to the Merit of Civil Protection in Cantabria that he chaired together with the Director General of Civil Protection of the Ministry of the Interior, Virginia Barcones.
The awards have been given to the National Police officer Rafael Fontal for his intervention in the explosion and subsequent fire of the building of the Santanderino neighborhood of La Albericia on October 26, 2024 and to one of the residents of the property, Johan Samuel Yarleque, as well as to the Autonomous Emergency Service 112 for its 25th anniversary.
The government delegate considered it “an opportunity” to be able to recognize “one of the essential pillars of coexistence, harmony and the social and rule of law that we are” and that are the civil protection services. “Your discreet but tireless work sustains the security, trust and protection of thousands of people every day. Wherever an emergency arises, there is always a professional or a volunteer willing to respond with serenity, closeness and effectiveness,” said Casares.
Regarding the recognitions, he has valued all the professionals of 112 Cantabria that “every day in the only thing they think is to help others”, attending to “difficult situations” such as weather emergencies, rescues, preventive devices, logistical support in events and, above all, with a “close attention to neighbors and neighbors who needed immediate help”.
Rafael Fondal, the recognized National Police officer, has been thanked for his “exemplary work” in the fire in the building of La Albericia, where three people were killed whom the delegate also recalled.
“Thank you Rafael for that public commitment, for understanding that wearing the uniform of the National Police is not only a pride, but also a tremendous responsibility, for making service to others a way of life, a way of being and being,” added Casares.
About Johan Samuel Yarleque, a neighbor of that building in La Albericia and also decorated, the government delegate thanked him “to be an exemplary citizen and a courageous person who risked his life to help in the fire of this building to save and protect the lives of others.”
Of all of them, Casares has extolled that they are “the best example of the best Spain and the best Cantabria that, after 50 years of embracing democracy, comforts us in the country we live and serve”. “A Spain that is seen, felt and identified in the values of solidarity, dedication and vocation of public service, you represent,” he said.
“STORIES OF COMMITMENT, PUBLIC SERVICE AND COURAGE”
For her part, the General Director of Civil Protection has praised these recognitions that are granted to individuals and entities for “their dedication, professionalism and humanity”. “Every medal we impose today has a history of commitment, public service and, in many cases, true courage,” he said.
Barcones began his speech with a memory of the victims of the DANA. “The memory of what happened reminds us that Civil Protection is not an abstract concept: it is the real difference between life and tragedy; between vulnerability and protection. Today, this act is also a tribute to them,” he said.
The Director General of Civil Protection has highlighted the recognition of Fontal for his intervention in which he helped to rescue several people from the building affected by the explosion in La Albericia and in which three people died. “Today we distinguish not only that concrete intervention, but what it represents: the daily, often silent work of the Security Forces,” Barcones said.
And to the medal the National Police officer has added another “very special” to a citizen who “without uniform and without any obligation risked his life in the fire of his own building to help others.” “Johan Samuel Yarleque, in a gesture of extreme generosity reminds us that Civil Protection begins in citizenship,” he said.
On the 112 medal in Cantabria, he stressed that “112 is the true operating heart of any emergency”. “This medal recognizes your work, but it also wants to be an impulse to move forward with the same commitment as always,” he said.
WORDS OF THE DECORATED
Fontal, the agent decorated with the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection in bronze category with red badge, has dedicated this recognition to his colleagues in the Citizen Attention Group (GAC) of the National Police in Santander. “It’s from all the colleagues that we were there that day,” he said.
For his part, Johan Samuel Yarleque has thanked the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection, in bronze category with white badge, for what he did on the day of the explosion and subsequent fire of the building in which he resided in La Albericia, where he jumped from a height greater than six meters to take his wife, mother and daughter out of the building, a jump with which the column was damaged.
He said that, after the accident, he spent four days in a coma and in the hyperbaric chamber and, upon waking up, I did not know if I could recover mobility or if he would be disabled, but he has managed to recover “thanks to the efforts of all the professionals who have assisted me in Valdecilla and my family”.
Since 112, the Medal of Merit of Civil Protection has been collected for the 25th anniversary of its constitution in Cantabria by the Head of Room Fernando Arroyo, who has valued the “silent work” done by the emergency room workers to attend to emergencies or incidents and coordinate the other services involved in the system.
“Every day an average of 800 incidents or emergency calls that in summer times or during adverse events can be around 1,500,” said Arroyo, who thanked the recognition, as well as the joint work with National Police, Civil Guard, Local Police, Civil Protection Groups and the rest of the services.