Fire Engines Photos

Good grief we only had a volley ball court - they've got a swimming pool!!!!

Added by Rick Loudon on 19 June 2011.

What a station, the envy of many fire fighters I would think. Does not compare to my station, which incidentally, I am very fond of.

Added by Monkey Boy The 3rd on 20 June 2011.

If you look good are two swimming pools. In addition there is a volleyball camp in the gym and football field over a 5 on the chart, in addition to the weight room.


Added by Paulo Simões on 26 June 2011.

The UK could learn a lot from Portugal about integrating a fire station in to the community. As such we may be looking at these facilities with envy, assuming that they are purely and exclusively for fire service use. Paulo may be able to confirm, but it is common place that the local fire station also provides facilities for use by the locality. Partly due to the financial arrangements (funded by the local council), the organisational structure (reliant on volunteers to supplement a paid core of staff) and dedication/pride to serve their locality, fire stations may include: A public cafe, a function room (used by all ages daily), swimming pools, sports facilities etc. As the local 'Brigade' also run ambulance services, there is normally a supporting 'dial a ride' type service where local residents (particularly the elderly) can arrange to be taken/collected to doctors/hospital appointments or indeed to come and play cards with friends in the function room. We talk about 'Community Fire Safety' like it is a new thing in the UK (often forgetting the massive success of things like the good old open day) and trying to think of ways to 'integrate' with those we serve. Sometimes to move forward, you need to look backward, if we resuscitated some of our services values and took inspiration from our European neighbours we could make an even bigger improvement to our society

Added by John D on 27 June 2011.

Not only in Portugal but in every other country in Europe volunteers provide between 60% and (in Germany and Austria) over 90% of firefighting personnel.

This enables countries to have much more comprehensive fire protection at much lower cost, as the bill for payroll and employee benefits is so much lower.

Added by Rob Johnson on 28 May 2021.

Ten years ago I had a neighbour who, with his wife, spent the winter months in the Algarve. Nice climate and friendly people. When I asked him how much this cost he said things were much cheaper than back in the U.K and, for example, they had their meals at the local fire station. The food and service was excellent and there was the occasional excitement when a call came through. I never imagined something as big as this...

Added by Steve on 29 May 2021.

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