A recording obtained by Rede Amazônica revealed that the Fire Department did not have a vehicle available to respond to a fire in the Nova Aliança community, in the Rural Zone of Manacapuru, in the interior of Amazonas. In the call, made on August 19, a resident demanded the arrival of help and warned that the flames were approaching the houses.
Forest fires have already placed 36 of the 62 municipalities in Amazonas, more than half of the state, in an emergency situation. The crisis caused by the spread of fire and smoke led to the suspension of classes, the halt of outdoor activities, the sending of health alerts to the population and the reinforcement of operations to combat fires in several regions of the state.
"There is no vehicle to go there yet. The vehicle is in a fire there in Figueirinho", responds the firefighter. In the conversation, he explains that the team needed to complete the response to the other incident before heading to the community.
Manacapuru is among the municipalities in Amazonas in an emergency situation due to forest fires. Residents of the community, located on the Viúva branch, between Manacapuru and Novo Airão, report difficulties in obtaining assistance and say that, in some situations, they need to fight the flames on their own.
The call was made around 11:30 am. Almost an hour later, according to the information presented in the report, help had still not arrived.
In the recording, the resident questions the delay: "Good afternoon, brother. Are you going to take longer? Because the fire is getting close to our house here and you're not getting there."
The firefighter explains that the vehicle was mobilized for a fire in the Figueirinho region and states that the corporation only had one vehicle available for that service.
The resident then questions the structure of the battalion to serve the population of Manacapuru and demands action from the authorities.
Fires destroy crops and pastures
In the Nova Aliança community, the fires left losses for farmers. On the property of Carlos Alberto dos Reis, the flames destroyed cupuaçu, cocoa and pineapple trees, used as a source of income for the family.
The farmer claims that fires have been raging in the region for around 60 to 90 days. According to him, firefighters face difficulties operating in areas without roads and do not have sufficient equipment.
"Sometimes, one of the firefighters comes and wants to do some work, but they don't have the right equipment. Because not every piece of land has a road for them to go to where the fire is," he reported.
Fires hit rural properties in Manacapuru and destroyed entire plantations. — Photo: Vinicius Assis/Rede Amazônica
Carlos also states that, during this period, firefighters were only on the property once.
Even after the flames died down, there was still smoke coming from logs on the ground and a strong burning smell. The fire destroyed part of a fence, damaged an approximately 100-meter hose used for irrigation and reached close to the place where the animals were kept.
“I had to take the livestock out of here, because the pastures burned down. They burned the fence there, the chips. I took everything to the neighbor,” he said.
According to reports, the flames also almost reached a neighboring house and came close to a farm located nearby.
Residents report lack of structure
According to Sidney Araújo, representative of the residents, around 170 families live in the community. He states that the population has already had to contribute fuel to help fire crews arriving from other incidents.
"When we go after them, there aren't enough cars to help them, there's a lack of gasoline. Like now, recently, the residents gave gasoline to help them, because they were already coming from another mission," he said.
Sidney also reports that, when help does not arrive, residents enter the forest to try to contain the spread of the flames. He fears that fires will continue to hit the region until November.
Area destroyed by forest fire in Manacapuru, Amazonas. — Photo: Vinicius Assis/Rede Amazônica
Fire command was the target of investigation
In July, Lieutenant Emerson was the target of an investigation by the Internal Affairs Department of the Amazonas Public Security Secretariat, according to information confirmed to the report by the general commander of the Amazonas Military Fire Department, Colonel Orleilso Ximenes Muniz.
The investigation involved the destination of a load of wood donated to the corporation and suspicions of a possible scheme to transfer part of the amounts received by soldiers assigned to work at the Miriti resort.
At the time, Rede Amazônica aired an audio in which a person mentioned money destined for a supposed “little box”. The content was presented in the context of the suspicions investigated, which should not be treated as proven irregularities.
Firefighter boat was reported stolen
Another episode involving the corporation's structure in Manacapuru was the disappearance of a fire boat in the Miriti resort on March 14.
Rede Amazônica had access to the police report, in which the case was registered as theft. According to the information gathered for the report, the disappearance had not yet been clarified by the police.
The report requested positions on residents' complaints, the structure available to respond to fires in Manacapuru, the investigation involving the local command and the disappearance of the boat, but until the publication of this report there was no response.
