The president of Tragsa visits the works in the BRIF of Lubia

• Jesús Casas Grande oversees the development of an expansion and improvement project in which the government invests 4.3 million euros • The project envisages the construction of a central building for the fire base, two auxiliary buildings and the adaptation of existing facilities such as the helipist

August 8, 2023.- The president of the Tragsa Group, Jesús Casas Conde, visited this morning the works of expansion and improvement that are being carried out in the BRIF of Lubia. During his visit to the facilities he was accompanied by the Government’s subdelegate in Soria, Miguel Latorre Zubiri. Both have verified that the performances are going at a good pace.

The president of Grupo Tragsa, the organization on which the Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigades depend, has seen first-hand the evolution of the works that are being carried out at the Lubia base and, likewise, he has shared with the workers who are there.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), is investing 4.3 million euros in the expansion and modernization of the facilities of the BRIF of Soria. It is a work included in the ‘investment package’ that the Ministry has in place to renew all the fire bases that the Government of Spain has strategically distributed throughout the national geography.

Thus, the project of modernization and expansion of the BRIF of Lubia includes the construction of a new central building for the fire base, as well as two auxiliary buildings (a warehouse and workshop, and a covered outdoor dining room). In addition, the action includes works of adaptation of the existing facilities, with interventions in the helipist. New accesses will also be developed to improve the operation with the new location of use, as well as adapting the existing vials.

The new building for the fire base of the Lubia Forest Brigade rises in the immediate vicinity of the place occupied by the current base, which was created in 2007 and which occupies an old adapted forest house. The new building, with modern architecture but integrated into the environment, will have a built area of 1,275 square meters and will be developed on two floors. In this way, it will have living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, four changing rooms, gym, living rooms, training rooms, ten rooms, offices, meeting rooms and terrace, distributed on the two floors.

To achieve energy efficiency, the entire enclosure will use an Outdoor Thermal Insulation System (SATE). In addition, solar panels will be installed on the roof and there will be a biomass boiler in the facility room.

HELIPIST INTERVENTION AND NEW ACCESSES

The project includes, in addition to the new building of the BRIF base itself, two auxiliary buildings, a covered outdoor dining room and an auxiliary building for warehouse and workshop (warehouse for pilots, personal protective equipment, machinery and a small maintenance workshop for the same).

The modernization and expansion of the BRIF base in Lubia carried out by the Government in Soria at this time also includes some works to improve and update the existing facilities. Thus, small interventions are proposed in the helipist, where the construction of two retention buckets under the existing tanks, the pre-installation of lighting in the landing area and the protection of fires through SESR are foreseen.

WORK FOR 60 PEOPLE

At the Lubia base, more than 60 personnel are working with air assets whose job is to support the autonomous communities’ means of extinction, given that it is the autonomous communities that have the competence in matters against forest fires. In 2022, 72 interventions were carried out from Lubia in 32 forest fires, which involved more than 460 hours of flight of helicopters.

Specifically, the BRIF of Lubia is composed of six squads of eight people (six forest firefighters + one sliding firefighter + one foreman), that is, 48 people. To these must be added two sliding foremen; three fire technicians accompanying each two squads (one Brigade); a chief coordinator of technicians; a physical preparer; two base emisorists; a cleaning cook for camp of technicians and pilots; two base technicians as well as two pilots and a mechanic.

10 BASES THROUGHOUT SPAIN

The company Tragsa is in charge of putting in place the service of operation of the forest fire extinguishing and prevention device in order to cover the human and material means necessary to carry out various extinguishing and prevention actions on the territory in coordination with the autonomous communities.

The objective is the execution of the service for the operation of the forest fire extinguishing and prevention device in support of the autonomous communities in the extinguishment, prevention and analysis of forest fires composed of personnel specialized in: the planning of preventive actions, the management and behavior of the fire and in the strategic analysis;

Specifically, the global service can be divided, in turn, into other services: Service of support to the autonomous communities for the extinguishment of forest fires carried out by the Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigades (BRIF) which, with an integral character, and very attached to the territory, will address extinguishment and/or prevention tasks.

There are currently 10 BRIF bases that are located in areas of high fire risk and/or high forest wealth and that perform the three services indicated above in an integral way. Since the first two Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigades (BRIFs) were put into operation in June 1992, the locations of which were: Pata del Caballero (Huelva) and Prado de los Esquiladores (Cuenca), the magnificent result of these units motivated their expansion until forming the current map of locations, progressively adding the BRIF of Pinofranqueado (Cáceres) and Tabuyo del Monte (León). In 1994 a fifth unit was created in Daroca (Zaragoza). Subsequently, the Brigades of Laza (Orense), Tineo (Asturias), Puerto del Pico (Ávila), La Iglesuela (Toledo), Puntagorda (La Palma) and finally Lubia (Soria) were created in 2007. In 2004 the BRIF of Pata del Caballero moved to La Almoraima (Cádiz) and in 2005 it was eliminated reaching the ten current units in this way.

Since 2009, these units have been working practically throughout the year, carrying out complementary work for the extinguishment of forest fires in the periods of lower risk, such as forest treatment, controlled burning, dissemination and public awareness.