These works of expansion of the current Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigade (BRIF) will allow to pass from regime to BRIF (B) to BRIF (A), so in summer period it will have two shifts and two helicopters. ●The Ministry for Ecological Transformation and the Demographic Challenge is carrying out modernization works in the ten BRIF bases, with an endowment of about 60 M € , thanks to the funds of PRTR. The BRIF of Lubia (Soria) and Tabuyo (León) belong to this same plan.

Villarejo del Valle (Ávila) July 17, 2025.- Nicanor Sen, government delegate in Castilla y León, visited today the works of expansion and modernization of the Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigade (BRIF) located in the Puerto del Pico, in the Sierra de Gredos. Accompanying the Government delegate will be Fernando Galeano, Deputy Government Delegate in Ávila, and Elsa Enríquez, Deputy Director-General for Forestry Policy and Combating Desertification.

This project, driven by an investment of 6,641,466 euros, will represent a significant transformation for this operating base. The works have an expected execution time of 22 months, during which the infrastructures will be renewed and expanded to adapt them to the new needs of this service specialized in the fight against fires.

With this intervention, the BRIF of the Puerto del Pico, currently in category B, will be elevated to category A, strengthening its technical and operational capacity against forest emergencies. So in the summer period the BRIF will have two helicopters and 2 shifts, and it will also mean;

- In the use of the base two periods are distinguished: the period of extinction in summer from June 1 to October 15, and the period of prevention the rest of the year.

- During the period of extinction, workers are divided into shifts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, while the third shift rests. Covering an approximate time between 8 and 22 hours, and working from Monday to Sunday. Each shift is about 25 people, and during the central two hours of the day 50 people coincide at the base. In this period the helicopters are at the base, and it is necessary to have rooms for the rest of the pilots and mechanics.

- During the prevention period, all workers attend at the same time from 8 to 15 hours. They are engaged in preventive work in the field or in training and physical preparation at the base. The occupation is about 75 people.

The BRIF B of Puerto El Pico has a forest fire chief coordinator, three BRIF forest fire technicians, four BRIF forest fire foremen and 24 forest fire fighters. As non-operational personnel, who do not go to fires, it has two administrative issuers, a physical trainer and a logistical support assistant. In total, 36 people, of whom 32 are forest firefighters.

60 MILLION EUROS TO IMPROVE THE 10 BRIF

The investment of 6.6 million euros is part of the 60 million euros that the General Directorate of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification dependent on the Ministry for Ecological Transformation and Demographic Challenge, is investing in the improvement of the facilities of the 10 BRIF bases that exist in the national territory

These projects are being carried out thanks to the funds of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRTR), framed in the Conservation and restoration of ecosystems and their biodiversity, for the prevention and management of climate-related risks: firefighting.

The BRIF of Lubia (Soria) and Tabuyo (León) belong to this same plan.

WORKS WILL IMPROVE LOGISTICS AND EQUIPMENT

The new facilities for the BRIF Base, include a new heliport, the main building, a warehouse and workshop, a covered outdoor dining room, pergola for parking area coverage and ancillary constructions

The main building is implanted between the southern boundary of the plot and the heliport. The building is oriented providing visibility to the emisorists towards the heliport and allows a quick exit of forest firefighters towards the estacionamientos.El heliport consists of an approach and take-off area (FATO) and four concrete parking places..

Linked to the new main building is the auxiliary nave, a covered outdoor dining room and a covered parking area close to the main building.

The main building houses the majority of services for the workers of the base and the auxiliary building is destined to warehouses for pilots, EPIs, machinery and a small maintenance workshop for the misma.Se incorporates a new 2m high kinetic fence that delimits the scope of the BRIF.

The main building has been conceived from two basic concepts:

• Efficiency, both from a functional point of view and from an energy point of view. The entire envelope is insulated with SATE, facade and cover, to have a continuous exterior insulation. On the roof, solar panels for ACS and biomass boiler are installed in the installation room.

• Integration in the different locations. A discreet architecture that seeks to dialogue with the environment, without stridencies, making compatible the use of current construction systems and traditional materials (plaster and tile), without renouncing a contemporary image.

As for the organization, we can clearly distinguish three different pieces:

• Central nucleus, in which the main access to the building is located and from which the two lateral wings are articulated. The upper floor emerges in continuity from this central piece.

From the main hall, the different circulatory flows are distributed: Access to the classroom, the area of forest firefighters and foremen on one side, and that of technicians and pilots on the other; and access to the upper floor where the offices and the room of emisorists are located. All these differentiated areas and uses are unified under a large, slightly fractionated, two-water inclined cover.

•Left wing - Forest firefighters and foremen

The different spaces: living room with fireplace, dining room and kitchen. There is also the gym and the fitness room, and the toilet and dressing room area.

Noteworthy is the inclusion of a covered exterior corridor/gallery, closed with metal lattice but very ventilated, where they can hang the EPIs when returning from a fire without putting them in the building, thus avoiding annoying smells and soot in the dressing rooms.

•Right wing - Technicians, pilots and other staff

In it are located the accesses to the dressing rooms of technicians and foremen, then the industrial kitchen (with pantry), followed by the living area with fireplace and dining room.

Topping the wing is located the rest area, 8 single rooms and 2 double rooms, with a total of 10 rooms with capacity to accommodate 12 people. Each room has its own bathroom, wardrobe and work desk.

On the first floor, the emisorist room facing the heliport, the technicians’ office (4 posts), a meeting room for common use, the pilots’ office (4 posts), the foremen’s office (7 posts), and two toilets are located.