- Awards the medals to the Red Cross of Gipuzkoa, the Civil Protection Group of Balmaseda and the Basque Mountain Federation (FVM)
- They are rewarded for the exemplary performance of their functions and for relevant actions that have contributed to the prestige of the National Civil Protection System
- The event will be held on March 2 in the Government Delegation in the Basque Country
The Government Delegation in the Basque Country has awarded the Medals of Civil Protection Merit of the Government of Spain to the Red Cross associations of Gipuzkoa, the Civil Protection Group of Balmaseda and the Basque Mountain Federation (FVM) in recognition and support of the work carried out throughout 2022. These medals distinguish people or organizations that during the past year stood out for their actions in the protection of people and for services to the citizen that contributed in a special way to their safety and to improve their quality of life.
The government delegate in the Basque Country, Denis Itxaso, highlighted that the winners have stood out “for their vocation of public service, which was only intended to help others”.
In the case of the Red Cross in Gipuzkoa, the Government Delegation acknowledges its involvement and the response given in the reception of displaced persons and displaced persons from Ukraine who, after the beginning of the war by Russia, have arrived in Spain across the border in Irun. The action of the group of volunteers of Civil Protection of Balmaseda in the fight against the fire that was unleashed in the town of Biscay last October has also been distinguished, as well as the training, prevention and rescue work carried out by the Basque Mountain Federation with its means to minimize incidents in the mountains.
Red Cross of Gipuzkoa
The Red Cross in Gipuzkoa established a device on the border with France to guarantee information, reception and emergency accommodation, as well as transfers between Hendaye and Irún and/or San Sebastián to all those people in transit to other points of Spain and Portugal.
It also hosted a point of information and face-to-face emergency care at its headquarters in San Sebastián from which the first reception was managed, an emergency accommodation and/or its referral to other entities, the most immediate basic needs - including the management of their pets -, and a first legal advice to channel the applications of the temporary protection system, the re-establishment of family contacts and/or family reunification.
The Red Cross, which also established a special “patrol” of volunteers in the Euskotren station of San Sebastián as soon as it was detected that displaced persons had reached the border in private or dispersed means, continues to maintain the attention from the program of reception and integration of applicants and beneficiaries of international protection.
Civil Protection of Balmaseda
In the province of Bizkaia there are 15 groups of Civil Protection volunteers who carry out their work in different circumstances and who, in addition, carry out tasks of training the citizens in terms of prevention in situations of fires, first aid, or, for example, in those arising from the floods that can occur in our rivers, giving relief and assistance to the neighbors of the affected municipalities.
On Sunday, October 23, 2022, the day of the Feast of San Severino, the 50th edition of the traditional contest of Putxeras was held in Balmaseda. At about 11:45 a.m. the Civil Protection services were activated by forest fire in the area of the Artziniega road. Two days of intense work were ahead of them. There was nothing to suggest that this would be the most important fire that has occurred in Bizkaia in the last 30 years.
In total, throughout 2022, Civil Protection of Balmaseda has carried out 65 interventions/services; 15 interventions for emergencies (fires, rescues, traffic accidents, etc.); 40 preventive services (races, sports events, popular festivities, etc. ); 5 basic training actions of fire and first aid directed to different groups (Housewives, Pensioners, Students and Workers) and 5 of recycling towards the staff of the group.
Currently Civil Protection of Balmaseda counts with 12 volunteers, 4 women and 8 men.
Basque Mountain Federation (FVM).
The Basque Mountain Federation carries out an important task of launching information and information campaigns and training in schools, training talks in town halls, universities and clubs. In these talks we talk about prevention, what issues must be taken into account when we go to the mountain, prior preparation and how to act in case of incident or accident,
In the last 10 years the natural environment has become a tourist target. After the pandemic, mountain exits and rescues have multiplied tenfold. The Basque Mountain Federation promotes a logo that includes the six fundamental keys to take into account when going to the mountain:
1- Prepare your tour
2- Check the weather forecast
3- Organize your backpack
4- Measure your forces
5- Let it be said where you are going
6- If you have problems call the phone 112.
In addition, the Basque Mountain Federation launched the SECURIBIDE application, a browser of official and approved trails of Araba and Gipuzkoa that can be carried on the mobile phone and that allows you to access, choose and travel the itinerary that best suits our interest.