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Firefighter blames Generalitat for "operational chaos" during DANA storm: "There was no command"

A witness tells the judge about the lack of personnel and disorganization among forest firefighters on the day of the tragedy, which claimed 230 lives.

Generic image of a firefighter's helmet with a blurred Mediterranean landscape in the background.
IA

Generic image of a firefighter's helmet with a blurred Mediterranean landscape in the background.

A witness has described a dramatic situation within the forest firefighter department on the day of the DANA storm, pointing to a lack of personnel and disorganization as causes of "operational chaos".

A witness on Tuesday pointed out to the judge the severe situation experienced by the forest firefighter department on October 29, 2024, the day of the DANA storm, a day that resulted in 230 deaths. The witness, a forest firefighter for the Generalitat Valenciana, explained that on that day, 250 operational personnel were missing and that "organizational chaos combined with the situation" occurred.
Normally, 106 people work per day, and a reinforcement operation involves an increase of about 20 to 25 people, reaching a total of 130. "However, the rest of us should have been compelled to go to work from minute zero, and that didn't happen; we were waiting to see if we would be called or not. It was chaos. There was no chain of command to direct and do what needed to be done," the witness stated.
In addition to the lack of operational personnel, there was "disorder" and an absence of command, as the forest firefighter summarized. When the lawyer for one of the accusers asked who should have activated the reinforcements, the witness replied: "The command of the emergency," referring to the Generalitat Valenciana.
The decision to withdraw the two forest firefighter units that were monitoring the ravines' water levels on the day of the DANA storm, which left the Emergency Center "blind," is also a matter being investigated by the examining judge.

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