November 15, 2023
Amovate is looking for an administrator to deal with General Administration and to answer emails as well as taking notes at the committee meetings.
It is not a paid position. In general the work will take about 2 to 3 hours a week maximum.
If you are interested or would like to chat with a Committee person please email info@amovate.com
Notes Taken at Public Meeting with Bombeiros. 10-07-2019
Topic :- Safe Village, Safe People
Bombeiros : Mario Costa – Commandant
Davide Costa
Junta : Henrique Henriques – President
Civil Protection : Sandra Oliveira
Amovate : Steve Scott -Administrator
Approximately 75 people attended the meeting.
Safe Village, Safe People was created after the 2017 fires in central Portugal with many losses of lives.
The reason for the meeting is to advise what to do in the case of any emergency which may be a fire or earthquake for example.
There is a 3 step procedure in this process of Safe Village, Safe People programme.
1. Clearance of vegetation and trees in accordance with newly laid out requirements.
2. To have public meetings on what action to take if any incident was to arise.
3. Where to locate to in case of evacuation requirements.
In the case of VdT and surrounding areas of Arrifana, Monte Clerigo, Espartal and Vales these areas are defined as :-
Signs will be erected at various points to advise of the safe meeting points and where they are and how to get there. Some are already in position and also advise of the severity of danger at this moment in time.
There is ONE free backpack for each household given by the Câmara, Junta and National Authority which for people who attended were distributed after the meeting and contain a bottle of water, a mask, a torch and some instructions.
If evacuation is required then it would be useful to add into the backpacks :-
simple first aid kit, any medicines being taken to cover a minimum 2 days, prescriptions, personal ID documents, tinned food & a change of clothing.
Representatives from the Civil Protection and Junta can advise on any questions at any time where 25 people are available daily to look after our safety.
Renata Ramos and Steve Baker are the residents in VdT who will control the two meeting points in VdT working with the Bombeiros and the National Authority. They will receive the initial information and then the word has to be spread and in particular when it requires evacuation.
The following points were raised during a question and answer period but are considered important and so are highlighted as such.
Households with gas bottles should place them in the swimming pool.
Ensure the area around your property is clean and clear.
Close all doors, windows and metal shutters. Plastic shutters should remain open as they easily burn.
For anybody who is unable, due to illness, to get to the meeting point an ambulance will be made available.
Animals should be taken to the meeting points with their owners.
The Amovate has put forward an idea that the best way to respond to an emergency is to have a siren fitted on the water tower and was mentioned during the meeting. This to cover a radial area of 3km and would be controlled remotely but only by the Bombeiros. We have had two quotes which involves high cost and a high difference between them with the lowest price being around 15K GBP. If every household donated, say 10 euros then we would probably have enough to cover the cost including installation but would that be acceptable and would every household participate ? It seems such a small amount to donate to assist in a safe and quick evacuation to the meeting points without relying on a few people to spread the word and possibly putting themselves in danger. It would be good to know if this would be a favorable way to raise the amount required. Please talk with your neighbors locally to your area and advise us of yours and their thoughts on this suggestion by emailing us so that we can then decide how we can or should move forward.
Meanwhile we are looking at holding an event in September where all monies raised would go towards a siren.
Also the Amovate will post any further information received and especially when danger is in sight on their website and FB page.
UPDATE:
Bombeiros Meeting
Wednesday 10th July 2019
18.00 hours
At Hugo’s Bar Vale Da Telha
The Bombeiros will be holding a meeting on the above date and time to inform residents of actions that will happen in the case of a severe emergency.
They have plans in place to deal with such occasions and need to inform everyone of what actions are required.
It is important that every household are aware of these actions so please make time to attend.
Reunião Bombeiros
Quarta-Feira, 10 de julho de 2019
18.00 horas
No Hugo’s Bar Vale Da Telha
Os Bombeiros realizarão uma reunião na data e hora acima mencionadas para informar os moradores sobre as ações que acontecerão no caso de uma emergência grave.
Eles têm planos para lidar com essas ocasiões e precisam de informar toda a gente sobre quais as ações que são necessárias.
É importante que todos os agregados familiares estejam cientes destas ações, por isso, por favor reserve algum tempo para participar.
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Important Possible Life Saving Information – Village Safety Plan
The Junta de Freguesia of Aljezur together with the Aljezur Bombeiros with direction from the National Authority for Civil Protection, are putting a plan into place to assist escape from Arrifana, Vale Da Telha and Vales in the event of any major incident through fire or earthquake.
All properties have been identified in the area together with the occupants. The Bombeiros are totally aware where people should escape to, which may change depending on any extreme weather conditions.
There has been major tree clearance and under growth removal to not only protect
properties and occupants, but to assist in fighting fires and control of them.
Meeting points have been identified and the major areas are outside the Supermarket in Vales, the football field opposite the Vale Da Telha Hotel and the area in the middle of the Apartments in Sector B.
The aim is to have several residents of various nationalities that will be able to spread the word of any impending problems with fire, these people will be trained for this purpose along with Wardens who will be the co coordinating officers at the Meeting Points. These wardens will also receive training.
This Amovate web site and Social Media sites will be updated to ensure the information gets out to the public in general.
You will have noticed signs in Vales that indicate probability of wild fires due the extreme weather situations. There will be, in the near future, similar boards at Sector E, the Apartments, opposite the Hotel by the Football Field and at the triangle junction of roads to the tennis courts and Sector M.
The Bombeiros will be holding 2 public meetings. Dates, times and venues will be
announced shortly, but both will be before 1 st July where the scheme will be outlined to everyone. Information concerning these meetings will be displayed on the Amovate Web Site and will be passed onto local Social Media sites to ensure as many people as possible are aware.
There will be a need to make yourself and family a pack that should contain enough food for 2 days and any appropriate medication also copies of important documents such as passports, residencia and any other such documents. This should be kept in a place where in case of emergency it can be picked up and allow you all to leave your property immediately.
However more information regarding this will be given at the public meetings.
Finally, having read this please make a point of passing the information onto friends just in case they have not seen this note.
Amovate would like to thank the Aljezur Câmara, especially Antonio Carvalho for arranging with the British Consulate to visit Aljezur, and talk to British Citizens and interested parties about Brexit. He welcomed the attendees and apologised for the lack of translation during the meeting last week. He also stressed how important the UK and other Nationals were to the local community, and how important is is that we are able to stay living where we are. He also thanked AEZA and Amovate for their important contributions to the local community.
The presentation covered several topics and it was excellent to get a first-hand appraisal of the current Brexit situation, and not someone’s version in the press or on Social Media.
Two important points were stressed by British Consul Simona Demuro:
She urges everyone to visit the websites below (Gov.UK) and go through the pages of information which are being updated regularly. You can also sign up for weekly emails with regular updated information. They also have a Facebook page (and she stressed that this is THE official Facebook Page run by the British Embassy), which is “Brits in Portugal” https://www.facebook.com/BritsInPortugal/
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-portugal
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/advice-for-british-nationals-travelling-and-living-in-europe
The main topics covered were Residency, Health, and Driving Licences.
Residency: As mentioned, to protect your rights to stay in Portugal, you must be a Resident, or at least have started the process (whether it is the 5 Year Residency at the Câmara, or the 10 year Permanent Residency at SEF) before 29th March.
Health: Portuguese Health System is Residency based, so as a resident (prior to 29th March), you are entitled to Healthcare in the Portuguese system. This is the case whether there is a Withdrawal Agreement passed, or whether there is a No Deal.
In the event of a No Deal, UK issued EHIC cards will no longer be valid after 29th March. After this date, Portuguese EHIC cards may be applied for. Similarly, in the event of a withdrawal agreement, the S1 will still be valid. It is unknown what will happen if there is a No Deal scenario, but the British Consulate indicated that the two countries would work towards a bilateral agreement to cover this situation.
Driving Licence: The British Consulate stressed the importance of exchanging your UK Licence at the IMT before 29th March (or at least start the process). There was a discussion about the validity of the “White Piece of Paper” issued by IMT in the interim period before receiving your Portuguese Licence. It was stressed that this piece of paper is only valid in Portugal. There were also discussions about obtaining an International Driving Permit to cover this period, and it can be obtained with this “White Piece of Paper”. However, it is not clear, and the British Consulate did not know, whether these two documents are valid to drive / hire a car in the UK. The British Consulate advised that they would try and find out what the situation is or will be after Brexit.
They also stated that they are well aware of the chaotic situation at IMT in Faro, and the delays in obtaining Portuguese Licences, and are having discussions with IMT in the next few days.
Attendees were given handouts 2 of which are copied below.
UK Nationals Keep their Right of Residence 1
As promised, here are the bullet points of the Mayor´s speech in the Feb 12th meeting. This not the technical part of the plan given by the Architect-Engineer which in part was simultaneously translated to EN. (English) Hopefully when we have been afforded the copy of the presentation as promised, it will be translated into English and posted here.
Interpreted by a Portuguese independent person (with no ties to the Câmara), as a voluntary action. The contents of this translation have been approved by the Mayor himself, and in no way reflects any personal opinions. This is just a neutral translation of what was said.
