The strike by forest firefighters in the Community of Madrid is causing the units of the 22 fire stations to have fewer personnel. Previously, there was a unit with a truck and two or three forest firefighters in 19 stations. Now, none.
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Yesterday was a critical day because two fires were active in neighboring provinces that they had to attend: Mieres, in Guadalajara, and Almorox, in Toledo, which affected Madrid municipalities, such as Villa del Pardo.
In the Community of Madrid, there are 1,680 civil servant firefighters. Then there are the forest firefighters. Of the latter, a service is privatized through Tragsa, which has about 419 personnel all year round, and 220 additional people hired for six months, divided into extinction (61 firefighters), surveillance, and operational coordination.
Paradox: not going out to fires and yesterday 20 workers were sought
Those 61 forest firefighters are inoperative at the general directorate of emergencies, located in the municipality of Las Rozas, and are not going out to the current active fires these days “because the Community of Madrid does not provide us with vehicles or tools to go to the stations,” a spokesperson for the strike committee of public sector foresters told La Vanguardia.
It is paradoxical that yesterday was such a critical day that the fire chief on duty had to ask the operational service, which manages the human resources of the aforementioned body, for 20 reinforcement personnel. Specifically, “4 commanders, 4 drivers, and 12 firefighters were sought. The stations of Aldea del Fresno, San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Villaviciosa de Odón, and Móstoles were reinforced,” explains Jorge Escribano, spokesperson for CC.OO, for firefighters in the Community of Madrid.
“It is a paradox that there is a shortage of personnel and they do not mobilize us, even if we request it,” forest firefighters denounce on social network X.
On the contrary, from Tragsa, 60 forest firefighters participated yesterday in the Almorox fire and 18 in the Guadalajara fire.
Expressing their complaints
At this time of personnel shortage and the need to have the largest number of operational firefighters in the region, tomorrow, Friday, public forest firefighters will hold a press conference to explain their discrepancies with the sector’s minister, Carlos Novillo. A spokesperson for the strike committee explains that “since July 16, we, the Public Forest Firefighters of the Fire Department of the Community of Madrid, have requested their activation to various fires, as well as vehicles and tools to assist and work in fire extinction, but our requests are completely ignored.” This group has submitted the request by registry and with phone calls; but in their opinion, they are not counted on to call off the strike. The minimum services are 80%, but then they do not attend incidents with their civil servant colleagues due to lack of technical infrastructure. In 19 fire stations, during the summer campaign in previous years, there used to be a forest fire truck, with 2 or 3 workers per crew. This year, there are none.
To which they add. “Civil servant firefighters whose shifts are 24.5 hours are being used, compared to ours which are 10 hours, making them more expensive for the regional coffers,” they emphasize.
Agreement reached
The Community of Madrid has reached an agreement with the Forest Agents Corps of the region to reinforce their working conditions during the 2026/29 period. The Governing Council approved this Wednesday the text agreed upon in the Sectoral Table for Administration and Services Civil Servant Personnel.
As explained by the Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Interior of the Community of Madrid, Carlos Novillo, the new text increases the response capacity of these professionals in emergency cases, increases remuneration and optimizes the organization of the service.
In addition, it incorporates a pool of extraordinary 24-hour shifts, voluntary and paid, which will allow increasing coverage when unforeseen incidents arise and ensuring the continuity of citizen care.
This pool of shifts will be especially useful during the high danger period of the Special Civil Protection Emergency Plan for Forest Fires (INFOMA), when unforeseen situations may occur that require reinforcing the operation. The agreement also contemplates the mobilization of these workers when an Advanced Command Post or a Civil Protection Plan is activated to offer a rapid and coordinated response to emergencies.
Likewise, the agreement incorporates the possibility of extending the working day to guarantee the continuity of essential public services, such as the search and location of people in the natural environment, intervention in vegetation fires, waste control or actions related to dangerous animals and protected species.
Of the 1,680 civil servant firefighters, the daily staffing for high forest fire risk, as it is this week, totals 283 personnel. This high-risk period runs from June 16 to September 30. In summary, yesterday the Community of Madrid had 61 inactive forest firefighters and requested 20 civil servant firefighters via WhatsApp for the emergencies that arose.
Forest firefighters demand economic and labor improvements, as their conditions are much worse than those of civil servants when performing similar work in fires. “We go in the same trucks to fires and perform similar functions, but, for example, our contract does not cover an occupational disease,” states a spokesperson for the strike committee. They don’t even have the firefighter category; instead, they are listed as salaried taxi and van drivers or building maintenance technicians. In 2012, they did have the firefighter category, but after the sector’s stabilization in 2025, it disappeared.
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