Would your home survive a rural fire?
Around four years ago, I had the privilege of accompanying Val Charlton, Managing Director of Landworks NPC, an expert on rural fires and Firewise Communities in South Africa, on a
Illicit firearms trafficking
Being on the south west corning of Europe, Portugal is a landing point for the importation of drugs from South America (mainly cocaine) as well as countries such as Morocco
“Combat is not a solution to fires – prevention is”
These are not my words but those of Brigadier General Duarte da Costa, President of ANEPC (National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority), during a recent interview. I could not agree
Criminal exploitation of the Covid-19 pandemic
I recently made a presentation via Zoom to Rotary Club Estoi Palace International of how individual criminals and organised crime groups have been quick to exploit the crisis induced by
Shall we go Phishing today?
Just over a year ago, I wrote an article on phishing scams which are the way in which criminals use the internet and social media into deceiving victims into disclosing
Land cleaning and rural fire prevention
With the emphasis on Covid-19, it is easy to forget other important matters than can pose a risk to our safety in Portugal – one of these being the risk
New Year message
For this feature, I thought I would give a personal view of the challenges we at Safe Communities Portugal have faced with this crisis over the last year and how
Use of social media in times of crisis
This feature covers an important subject concerning the use of social media in times of crisis. In this case, it is Covid-19, but it could easily be rural fires or
Shaken not stirred
When the late Sir Sean Connery, playing James Bond 007, ordered a vodka martini, he always asked for it to be “shaken not stirred”. Sadly, he passed away last week
From fire to floods
What a difference a week makes! I am not talking about politics but about fires and floods. On Sunday, September 13, the largest fire of the year started on a day