Casas de Don Pedro merges civil protection and volunteer firefighters into one group

The Casas de Don Pedro City Council has initially approved the regulation that merges its local civil protection volunteer group and its municipal volunteer firefighters group into a single organizational structure. The Plenary agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz No. 212, dated November 5, 2026, within the Local Administration section, under reference Announcement 4339/2026. The text remains open for public information for 30 days for the submission of claims and suggestions.

The regulation comes after both organizations completed their own processing. The Civil Protection Group was approved by agreement of the Plenary on October 29, 2025, and obtained final approval in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz on July 21, 2026 (number 137). The Firefighters Group was approved by plenary agreement on January 22, 2026, with final approval in the provincial gazette on March 16, 2026 (number 50). The file is completed with the Mayor’s order of October 21, 2026, the justifying report, and the Secretariat reports, both dated October 22, 2026.

The vote in the Plenary consisted of five votes in favor from the socialist municipal group, four abstentions from the People’s Party municipal group, and no votes against, meaning the agreement was adopted by an absolute majority. The regulation consists of a statement of reasons, 16 titles with 55 articles, three transitional provisions, a single repealing provision, and two final provisions.

A single volunteer structure

The text establishes the Local Civil Protection Volunteer Group of Casas de Don Pedro as an organization dependent on the City Council, with free, altruistic, and unpaid action, without any labor, civil service, or statutory relationship with the corporation. Integrated into its structure is the Volunteer Firefighters Operational Section, a unit specialized in fire prevention and action, salvage, and rescue, which lacks its own legal personality.

The statement of reasons justifies the operation as “improving coordination, streamlining municipal organization, and establishing a single volunteer structure,” and emphasizes the value of these resources in municipalities with small populations. The planned bodies are:

• Mayor’s Office, with superior direction and the appointment of the leadership.
• Responsible Department, with political and administrative coordination functions.
• Leadership of the group, designated by the Mayor’s Office.
• An operational manager for the section, proposed by the leadership, with preferred training in firefighting, salvage, or emergencies.

Thirty days for allegations

The third of the agreements submits the text to public information and a hearing for interested parties through its publication in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz and on the municipal notice board, for a period of 30 days. Any allegations submitted will be resolved by the Corporation, and if none are registered, the regulation will be definitively approved without the need for a new express agreement from the Plenary.

Simultaneously, the City Council will publish the full text on its web portal to gather additional contributions from citizens and entities. The agreement also empowers the Mayor’s Office to sign the documents linked to the file, and the regulation will enter into force once the legal procedures for approval and publication have been completed.

Volunteer firefighters: integration, means, and coordination

Members of the current Municipal Group of Volunteer Firefighters may join the section through an individual express declaration, acceptance by the City Council, registration in the municipal registry, and a volunteering commitment, according to the model in Annex IV. Upon the entry into force of the regulation, that group will cease to exist as an independent organization, and its members, means, and functions will transfer to the civil protection group.

Vehicles, tools, and equipment assigned to the volunteer firefighters will be incorporated into the group’s inventory, with preferential use by the section. Until new appointments are made, current officials may continue to perform operational functions under the coordination of the leadership. External coordination is established with:

• 112 Extremadura and the CPEI of the Provincial Council of Badajoz.
• Civil Guard and Local Police where they exist.
• Health services, INFOEX, and other competent bodies.

The regulation emphasizes the auxiliary nature of the section: it will not replace professional extinction, rescue, emergency, or civil protection services; its volunteers will not have the status of authority agents, and no member will be obliged to intervene in high-risk situations without adequate training, means, and security.

The text is signed by the mayor, Inmaculada Fca. Vicente García de la Trenada.

The open period directly affects the volunteers of both groups and the residents of a municipality that depends on its own resources and provincial coordination to respond to fires, accidents, and adverse weather phenomena. The merger seeks to ensure that this response capacity arrives with a single chain of command and a common inventory of means, but its real scope will depend on how many volunteer firefighters formalize their integration in the coming months.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, no. 212, November 5, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 2-10 (official reference: Announcement 4339/2026).