Firefighters work on a fire in a rural area of Itacoatiara. — Photo: Liam Cavalcante/Rede Amazônica
The government of Amazonas requested support from the federal government to combat forest fires, but dismissed a team of firefighters before it could move to work in the state, reported the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA). The demonstration occurred after the commander of the Amazonas Military Fire Department (CBMAM), Colonel Orleilso Muniz, stated that the request for federal aid had been denied.
The divergence came to light on Friday (9), during Muniz's interview with Jornal do Amazonas 1ª Edition, from Rede Amazônica. The commander said that firefighters received a negative response to their request for support to fight forest fires, including in areas under federal responsibility.
Hours later, the Ministry of the Environment contested the statement and stated that the federal government is already working to combat fires in Amazonas. This Saturday (10), the first aircraft sent by the Union arrived in Manaus. A federal delegation should also arrive in the capital overnight to monitor the actions.
Aid was dispensed after rains, says ministry
In a note, the Ministry of the Environment reported that it received, on September 23, a request for support from the government of Amazonas through the Integrated Multi-Agency Center for Federal Operational Coordination (Ciman Federal), coordinated by Ibama.
Based on the request, combatants from the Response Project in Integrated Actions for Action in Disaster Situations (Respad) and an aircraft from the Aircraft Management Project for Emergency and Relief Situations (Pegasus) were mobilized.
However, according to the ministry, on September 30, the state government informed that it no longer needed the support of the brigade members with the justification that rain contributed to controlling the fires. The federal team was dismissed before moving to work in the field.
The MMA also stated that it instructed the state government to request resources through the National Civil Protection and Defense System (SINPDEC) to expand its capacity to respond to fires. Until this Saturday, according to the ministry, the request had not been formalized.
g1 asked the government of Amazonas whether the dismissal of the federal team on September 30 was a formal decision by the state and what its position was on the divergence, but until the publication of this report it had not received a response.
Firefighters say aircraft request was denied
The statement by the fire commander that initiated the divergence occurred on Friday (9). During an interview with Rede Amazônica, Orleilso Muniz stated that the corporation had received a negative response to the request for federal support.
"We have already had negative feedback, which it would not be possible to support. I reinforce and appeal once again: the state of Amazonas needs to join forces with the Federal Government to carry out a qualified confrontation", he stated.
To g1, firefighters sent two letters related to the request for resources to fight forest fires. One of them was forwarded to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security on September 18. The other contains the folder's response, signed on October 1st.
In the document, the Ministry of Justice stated that it could not respond to the request at that time. According to the response, the National Public Security Secretariat did not have equipment of that type for donation and indicated alternatives for obtaining federal resources.
The order, signed by Muniz, provided for four aircraft to fight the fire, an aircraft to transport teams and equipment and resources for the purchase or rental of vehicles.
Federal government cites actions in Amazonas
In addition to the mobilization of teams and aircraft, the Ministry of the Environment stated that the federal government supports Amazonas through the ProAmazon project, financed by the Amazon Fund with R$45 million.
According to the ministry, payments were made in January 2025 and March 2026. The resources are intended to strengthen the structure of the Fire Department and actions to prevent and combat forest fires and unauthorized burning.
The ministry also reported that, since the start of the fire season, Ibama has extinguished 229 fires in Amazonas and continues to combat another 20 active fires. The department did not say where the operations are concentrated.
Smoke covers Manaus again
This Saturday, smoke once again covered Manaus for the third consecutive day. At around 6 am, the concentration of fine particles reached 209.1 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) in the sensor installed at the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema), in the Central-South Zone of the capital.
The index is more than eight times higher than the limit of 25 µg/m³ used by the Electronic Environmental Surveillance System (Selva), of the State University of Amazonas (UEA), as a reference for good air quality.
In the central region of Manaus, the concentration reached 164.1 µg/m³. In Morro da Liberdade, the sensor recorded 157.2 µg/m³. At all three points, the air quality was classified as poor.
Manaus dawns covered in smoke — Photo: José Lima/Rede Amazônica
