Oliva de Mérida approves the regulations for its volunteer firefighters

The Plenary of the City Council of Oliva de Mérida, in an ordinary session held on August 27, 2026, provisionally approved the Municipal Regulation of the Local Group of Volunteer Firefighters, a regulation that organizes the fire prevention, extinction, and rescue service of the municipality. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, number 168, dated September 2, 2026, via announcement 3462/2026.

The file was initiated with the Mayoral order of April 7, 2026, accompanied by the secretarial report of the same date regarding the procedure and the municipal competence to regulate volunteer firefighters. Following the legally established processing, the Corporation has now submitted the text for public information and hearing of interested parties.

An altruistic civil protection service

The regulation defines the members of the group as individuals who, by charitable-social vocation, altruistically provide collaborative functions in fire prevention, extinction, and rescues, within the emergency planning and management structure of the City Council. It is expressly stated that they are not considered civil service or contractual personnel, and that their actions are carried out free of charge and honorarily, without an employment relationship.

The scope of action extends to the municipal district of Oliva de Mérida, although they may act outside of it in exceptional or emergency cases, at the request of the competent authority. The group is hierarchically organized into three categories:

• Group or Section Chief, elected by vote of the active section for four-year terms.
• Corporal, which requires a minimum of three years of active seniority.
• Firefighter, the entry category.

Entry, requirements, and discharge

Applicants for the active section must submit an application addressed to the Mayor’s Office and pass a selection process that includes a medical examination, a physical fitness test, and an interview before the Local Civil Protection Board. The admissibility requirements are:

• To have reached 18 years of age and not have reached 60.
• To reside within the municipal district or within a radius of less than 15 km.
• To not suffer from any psychic or physical deficiency that prevents the exercise of the functions.

After passing a probationary period or entry course, applicants are appointed as volunteer firefighters in training. Discharges occur due to resignation, illness, reaching 55 years of age, or revocation of the appointment, which is processed through an individual file with a prior hearing.

Rights, training, and on-call teams

The regulation recognizes economic compensation for members of the active section for expenses derived from service, accident insurance with coverage for death and permanent disability in the line of duty, and legal defense in proceedings initiated due to their actions. It also regulates the identification card, uniforms and insignia, as well as honorary distinctions and commendations.

Training is mandatory for the active section and includes entry, improvement, and specialization courses. Firefighters are grouped into on-call teams reachable to attend to emergencies, and the City Council must provide the necessary technology for their immediate localization. The structure of the group will be flexible during the first three years from its constitution.

The regulation will enter into force 20 days after its full publication in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz. During the thirty-day public information period, residents and entities may submit claims or suggestions; if none are submitted, the regulation will be considered definitively approved without the need for an express agreement from the Plenary. The regulation, signed by the Mayor, Juan Carlos Benítez Casillas, provides Oliva de Mérida with a stable framework for an essential civil protection service.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, no. 168, September 2, 2026, Local Administration, pág. 2-13 (official reference: announcement 3462/2026).