Zaragoza increases aid to Valencia with cranes, a fire station and 1,600 rubber boots

Zaragoza City Council is going to increase the sending of aid to the Valencian Community. Mayor Natalia Chueca has chaired an evaluation meeting in which it has been agreed to reinforce the contingent. This reinforcement includes cranes, cleaning machinery, 1,500 rubber boots and an advanced Firefighters’ medical post with hospital beds.

Since Wednesday, Zaragoza ‘s response has been present at the ground zero caused by the DANA in the Valencian Community. That day, a team made up of 11 firefighters, one of them a nurse, moved to the La Albufera area to locate possible victims. Specialized dogs also participated in these works.

From that moment on, a special device was put in place to deal with the consequences of this national catastrophe with the drafting of an inventory of material and personal resources to be activated when necessary. In the following days, a fire brigade unit was activated to relieve the first professionals who went to the affected area, as well as two detachments of the Operational Support Unit (UAPO) of the Local Police with 16 agents to carry out security tasks and twenty trucks and cleaning machines were chartered with another twenty workers.

In parallel, Zaragoza City Council sought to channel the solidarity that distinguishes the city, launching a fundraising campaign together with Ibercaja, which has raised almost 300,000 euros (75,000 of which came from the City Council) in the account ES55 2085 0103 9603 3317 9067 and through Bizum, using the code DANA to the number 05404.

In addition, together with the El Refugio brotherhood , a campaign was started to collect non-perishable products, especially water, milk, cleaning products and personal hygiene products. Over a weekend, more than 130,000 kilos were collected and transported to Valencia thanks to the commitment of the Carreras Group and SAICA, all of which was made available to the Military Emergency Unit (UME) which will distribute it in the Paterna area. The collection point has changed from this Monday until Wednesday, as the University Civic Centre (c/Violante de Hungría 4) is open from 10:00 to 20:00 and there are ten people from the Zaragoza Volunteer Corps and thirty municipal workers there.

The needs have been increasing as the hours go by and this Monday a request for rubber boots was issued to help with the cleaning work. In response, Zaragoza City Council has decided to donate 1,600 boots and at the same time make an appeal to citizens and companies to obtain more units.

FIREFIGHTER HELP

This is not the only new development, as at the meeting on Monday promoted by the Mayor of Zaragoza , Natalia Chueca , the need to increase the number of health workers in the area of ​​the La Torre de Valencia neighbourhood, where the Firefighters are working, was put on the table. In view of this, it has been agreed to send in the next few hours a mobile ICU (with a doctor, a nurse and two Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), a Medical Assistance Vehicle (MVA) and an Advanced Health Post with eight beds, a doctor, a nurse and an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

The work of these health workers will be complemented by six Civil Protection Volunteers who will carry out the task of visiting homes to see who needs medical help, since the Zaragoza Firefighters present there have observed that there are citizens with chronic illnesses who need help, but who cannot go to hospitals.

CLEANING AID

The City Council, together with the company Valoriza, which manages the service in Zaragoza, has also brought cranes to the affected neighbourhoods in the capital of Valencia. Specifically, five cranes and seven drivers will carry out the work of removing vehicles that are piling up in the streets.

Likewise, and as was done last Saturday, the Zaragoza street cleaning contractor (FCC) is going to send a sewer truck and two siphon teams to the Catarroja area, managed by the Government of Aragon, to clean the sewer network and thus ensure that the next rains can be evacuated.

In this area of ​​Catarroja, the company Urbaser, following the proposal of the City Council, is going to move a Hidromek 210 rotary excavator with bucket and clamp, a model used by the Army, as well as a Toyota Hilux that they will load with essential PPE (water boots, glasses to avoid eye infections, masks and cleaning supplies).

The Mayor of Zaragoza , Natalia Chueca , is keeping the DANA/Valencia Aid device activated until it is necessary and wanted to thank the citizens, the companies and the municipal workers “for their solidarity, willingness and effort” when facing this catastrophe with “our Valencian brothers”. “ Zaragoza is a Solidary City, we are demonstrating it and we will continue to demonstrate it”.