São Brás has honoured Alerta, the fire alert association which plays a key role in alerting the public about fires and raising money, equipment and supplies for firefighters
The municipal council of São Brás de Alportel has awarded an official commendation to ‘Associação Alerta para Incêndio Florestal’, the group formed in 2016 which works tirelessly to report fires on Facebook as soon as they break out.
Over the years, the association has grown to play a key role in raising money and equipment for local firefighting forces, as well as supplies during the peak of the forest fire season, from water, energy drinks and energy bars to toiletries and basic first-aid supplies.
In recent years, the group raised over €6,000 for the volunteer firefighters of São Brás de Alportel, a “very important contribution” which gave them the “necessary conditions to carry out their humanitarian mission,” the council said in a statement.
Leading the association is local hero Deborah Burton, founder and president of ‘Alerta’, who in 2019 had already received a British Empire Medal “for services to the community in the Algarve, Portugal”.
“We’re really pleased and proud to receive this award from a Portuguese institution such as the council of São Brás,” the former nursing sister from Devizes, UK told the Resident, acknowledging that the association has grown into something much larger than she expected when she launched it nearly 10 years ago.
“Never in a million years did I expect it to become what it has become,” she said.
The official commendation was unanimously approved at the end of 2024 by the municipal council and was awarded to the association, represented by Deborah and her husband Andrew, as an act of “recognition of the work, effort and generosity of Associação Alerta para Incêndio Florestal.”
Last year also marked a new milestone for the association, which launched its first charity store in Silves. The store is located at no.6 on Rua Cruz de Portugal (near the ‘Ú Monchiqueiro 2’ restaurant) and will celebrate its one-year anniversary in March.
For those interested in following Alerta and learning more about what they do, the association can be found by searching for ‘Associação Alerta de incendio Florestal / Forest fire Alert’ on Facebook or online at www.algarvefire.info
michael.bruxo@portugalresident.com
