Alicante adds 15 new firefighters to fill vacancies in the workforce

The Alicante City Council continues to make strides in resolving the labour dispute with the city's firefighters. The council has added 15 new personnel to the Fire Prevention, Extinction, and Rescue Service (Speis) to fill current vacancies due to staff transfers and retirements.

With these new firefighters, the basic scale of the service stands at 145 personnel, to which 30 command positions are added, including corporals, sergeants, sub-officers, officers, and the chief of the body, reaching a total of 175 members.

The City Council has positively assessed the addition of the firefighters and assures that the reinforcement of the Speis staff is "constant." The Security Councillor, Julio Calero, has noted that these additions are complemented by another 47 personnel through various processes since 2017.

Additionally, the council has recalled that this week two new vehicles will be received. These include a diving van and an FSV model to provide coverage in traffic accidents. These vehicles are part of "the plan to improve and renew the fleet with the acquisition of 10 new first-response vehicles."

The Security Councillor recalls that in the last five years, the City Council has invested nearly 10 million euros in vehicles, equipment and refurbishment of the Speis facilities, "which for the first time in its history has a maintenance contract for the vehicle fleet for the period 2023-27 with a budget of 360,000 euros."

The announcement of the addition of new personnel to fill vacancies meets one of the demands of the workforce, while the announcement of the new vehicles aims to appease the conflict between the Alicante Firefighters Platform and the City Council.

The group reported on Monday that the council had "failed" to meet one of the initial commitments published in the official statement on April 22 of this year. Specifically, they point out that in that document, Councillor Julio Calero, responsible for the area, committed to delivering vehicles V-24, V-28, and V-38 before April 30, 2025. "The deadline has passed, and upon verifying the operational reality of our service, as of today, these vehicles have not been delivered, unequivocally contradicting what was publicly announced," they express.