Mayor Carter denies support to the Forest Brigade of La Florida
The Brigada de Emergencias Alto Florida, the first forest brigade in the country made up exclusively of volunteers, applied for a municipal subsidy of 16 million pesos. The money was to be used for the purchase of a vehicle and basic equipment to carry out emergency prevention and response activities in the precordillera and Bosque Panul. The municipality allocated only 2 million. Shortly afterward, however, it granted 80 million to the Ñuñoa Fire Service for the same purposes: vehicles to operate in the upper precordillera.
With indignation, the residents of La Florida's precordillera and the Red por la Defensa de la Precordillera received the news of the discriminatory treatment that the Municipality of La Florida had shown toward the Brigada de Emergencias Alto Florida.
The Brigade was formed in 2014 by a group of residents of La Florida, becoming the first forest brigade in the country made up exclusively of volunteers.
Without any official support, relying solely on contributions donated by its members and supporters, they managed to equip themselves to the point where they were soon capable of responding to forest fires in the precordillera. Over the last three summer seasons they contained numerous fires and near-fires in the Quebrada de Macul, Alto Macul, Santa Sofía de Lo Cañas, and Bosque Panul. They demonstrated efficiency, professionalism, and dedication, winning the affection of all residents and defenders of Panul. Given these achievements, they were recognized as a Forest Brigade by the regional CONAF, with which they signed a mutual aid agreement for fighting forest fires in the precordillera. This agreement has been activated on several occasions.
Since the Brigade lacked a vehicle to transport volunteers and carry water and equipment to the higher parts of the precordillera, they decided to apply for a municipal subsidy, requesting 16 million pesos. However, they received only 2 million. The municipality claimed a lack of resources to give them more.
Great was the surprise, then, when shortly afterward the same municipality granted the Ñuñoa Fire Service (the corps to which La Florida's three fire stations belong) a substantial subsidy amounting to 80 million pesos. This was to be used for the purchase of equipment and vehicles to combat forest fires. The extraordinary thing is that legally, it is not the Fire Service but CONAF that is responsible for attending to forest fires.
The question residents asked was obvious: Why this discrimination against the Brigade, compared to the Ñuñoa Fire Service? (PDF). Much of the answer likely lies in the fact that Mr. Carlos San Martín, the municipal administrator, belongs to the Ñuñoa Fire Service — as does Councilman Oscar Aguilera, a fierce detractor of the Brigade.
It seems that Mayor Rodolfo Carter and the Municipal Council do not care about native vegetation in the precordillera and Bosque Panul — the natural lungs of the region — and care even less about the decision-making, participation, and professional, tireless work of a group of residents willing to do anything to save from fire a territory so vital to the health of our city.
RED POR LA DEFENSA DE LA PRECORDILLERA October 2017
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