The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) filed a Public Civil Action against the Union, requesting the urgent release of funds for the hiring of firefighters. According to the agency, on August 22, a recommendation was issued for the hiring of more than 450 firefighters and the provision of aircraft to combat fires in the North Region. As the MPF did not receive a response, it appealed to the courts.
In the lawsuit, the MPF urgently requests that the Federal Government release funds to hire 15 brigades with 30 temporary firefighters each. It also requests that it provide personal protective equipment and firefighting equipment, aircraft with the capacity to transport up to 12,000 liters of water on each flight, and helicopters equipped with water sprayers. It also suggests that the Union request military firefighters from other states as an alternative to hiring.
The estimated resources required are from Ibama in Rondônia, with whom the teams must work to control the fires in the region. According to the entity, it currently has only 205 firefighters distributed across eight bases that serve the state and the south of Amazonas.
The Federal Public Ministry also requests that the Union be ordered to pay R$50 million as compensation for collective moral damages.
Another request in the Public Civil Action is that the National Security Force and the Brazilian Army send enough men to ensure patrolling of the areas surrounding the firefighting operations. Furthermore, the firefighters who work in the Ibama management area in Rondônia, who also serve in Acre, southern Amazonas and western Mato Grosso, are given escorts.
