Pedrógão Grande: Victims' association marks eight years since the fire tragedy

The Pedrógão Grande Fire Victims Association (AVIPG) marks eight years on Tuesday since the fires that caused dozens of deaths and injuries, in addition to the destruction of homes, businesses and forests.

According to the program sent to the Lusa agency, at 2:30 pm the AVIPG headquarters, in the former primary school of Figueira, parish of Graça (Pedrógão Grande), opens its doors, followed by a meeting at 5 pm at the Memorial to the Victims of the 2017 Fires and the laying of a wreath.

At 6:30 pm, a mass is scheduled at the Igreja Matriz da Graça.

On the 22nd, the “Renascer 17.06.2017” walk will take place.

The Intermunicipal Community of the Leiria Region announced that the mayors will join the association's initiatives, laying a wreath at the site, as well as preparing the monument for this purpose.

The memorial opened on June 15, 2023, next to National Road (EN) 236-1, in the Pobrais area, Pedrógão Grande, with the names of the 115 victims of the fires that year.

It was at the memorial that, on June 9th of the following year, the National Flag was hoisted, as part of the celebrations of Portugal Day, Camões and the Portuguese Communities, then centered on Pedrógão Grande, Castanheira de Pera and Figueiró dos Vinhos, in the north of the district of Leiria, the municipalities most affected by the fires of June 2017.

The flag was delivered to AVIPG on Portugal Day.

The fires that broke out on 17 June 2017 in Pedrógão Grande and spread to neighbouring municipalities caused the death of 66 people and injuries to 253 residents, seven of whom were serious. The fires destroyed around half a thousand homes and 50 businesses.

In October of the same year, fires in the Central region caused 49 deaths and around 70 injuries, and the total or partial destruction of around 1,500 homes and more than 500 businesses.

The legal proceedings relating to the deaths in the Pedrógão Grande fires await deliberation by the Coimbra Court of Appeal, after several appeals were filed following the acquittal of all defendants in September 2022 at the Leiria Judicial Court.

In this process, the Public Ministry (MP) counted 63 deaths and 44 injured people who wanted criminal proceedings.

On trial were the commander of the Pedrógão Grande Volunteer Firefighters, Augusto Arnaut, then responsible for rescue operations, two employees of the former EDP Distribuição (current E-REDES), José Geria and Casimiro Pedro, and three workers from Ascendi (Rogério Mota, José Revés and Ugo Berardinelli).

The Lousã-Pedrógão medium voltage line, in which the MP claimed that electrical discharges occurred that triggered the fires, was the company's responsibility.

The Pinhal Interior road sub-concession, which was part of EN 236-1, was awarded to Ascendi Pinhal Interior, which was responsible for fuel management.

The former presidents of the Chambers of Castanheira de Pera and Pedrógão Grande, Fernando Lopes and Valdemar Alves, respectively, were also charged.

The president of the Figueiró dos Vinhos Council, Jorge Abreu, as well as the former vice-president of the Pedrógão Grande Council, José Graça, and the then head of the Forestry Office of this municipality, Margarida Gonçalves, were also among the defendants.

Another legal case, relating to the reconstruction of houses in Pedrógão Grande following the fires, has since returned to the first instance for the application of the determined penalties, after several appeals.

In this case, 14 defendants, including Valdemar Alves and former councilor Bruno Gomes, and applicants for the reconstruction of properties as if they were their first homes, their relatives or employees of the Finance Department and parish council, were sentenced to suspended sentences, and payments were also ordered to various entities on account of the civil claims.