President Abinader has lunch with forest firefighters

On Friday, the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, hosted a reception at the National Palace for forest firefighters as a recognition and appreciation of their efforts during the recent fires in the country. The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Miguel Ceara Hatton, announced that the firefighters would meet with the President to acknowledge “the great work they have done.” When asked about a possible salary increase, he replied that they would be given special recognition, but no raise for now.

The salaries in the firefighting area range from RD$60,000 for specialized technicians to the lowest of 15,000 pesos per month. The Ministry of Environment representative spoke only about those who were arrested and brought to justice for causing the fires, stating that justice should act against them. Geronimo Abreu, in charge of the national fire management program, reported that they had extinguished about 550 fires so far this year and that there were currently no forest fires in Valle Nuevo. He also mentioned that the peak season of forest fires had ended and that there might be some agricultural burning in some areas.

Forest firefighter Jimmy Abreu spoke about the recent fires, saying that they were finishing the first high season of forest fires, which runs from February to April. He mentioned that this is a cyclical event that happens every year due to the preparation of agricultural land by producers and coincides with the season of less rain. Although this year had the highest occurrence of forest fires, they continue to prepare themselves.