Torrelavega reduces firefighter positions from eight to five due to expiration

The Torrelavega City Council has reduced the number of firefighter positions in the current call for applications from eight to five, as the three positions originating from the 2022 Public Employment Offer have lapsed. The decision was adopted by the Mayor’s Office-Presidency through Resolution number 2026005763, dated October 19, and was published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 205, dated October 26, 2026, with official reference CVE-2026-8279 and file 2024/14066J.

From eight to five positions in the Fire Service

The call, approved by agreement of the Local Government Board on March 16, 2026, provided for the permanent appointment as a career civil servant, through a competitive examination process, of eight Firefighter positions for the municipal Fire and Rescue Service. The positions fall under the Special Administration scale, Special Services sub-scale, Fire Extinction class, and are classified in qualification group C1.

The original distribution of the eight positions was as follows:

• 2022 Public Employment Offer: 3 positions.
• 2023 Public Employment Offer: 1 position.
• 2024 Public Employment Offer: 2 positions.
• 2025 Public Employment Offer: 2 positions.

The regulatory bases were published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 144, dated July 29, 2026, and the call announcement in the Official State Gazette number 243, dated October 1, 2026. The now-published resolution specifies that the rest of the content of the bases remains unchanged: only the number of positions changes.

The expiration of the 2022 offer, origin of the cut

The cut is issued in execution of Resolution number 2026005719, dated October 15, which declared the expiration of twenty-nine positions from the municipal public employment offers from 2018 to 2022, due to the lapse of the non-extendable three-year period provided for in Article 70.1 of Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015, of October 30, which approves the Revised Text of the Law of the Basic Statute of the Public Employee.

That resolution, published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 204, dated October 23, 2026 (CVE-2026-8231), also ordered the processing of the exclusion of the expired positions from current calls, reducing the number of positions while maintaining the validity of the rest of the process. In the case of the firefighters, the three 2022 positions are voided in this call, although two are incorporated into the 2026 Public Employment Offer and one into the 2027 offer.

The same criterion has affected other municipal selection processes. The call for Police Officer went from eight to six positions due to the expiration of two originating from the 2020 offer, according to the announcement published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 204, dated October 23, 2026 (CVE-2026-8244).

Effects on applicants and the reinforcement of the service

Applicants participating in the process see the number of available positions reduced from eight to five. The rules maintain the competitive examination system, with five mandatory and eliminatory exercises: physical fitness, theoretical test, trade or vehicle maneuvers, psychotechnical study, and medical examination. Those who pass will be assigned to a firefighter-driver position.

The deadlines and communication regime also remain unchanged:

• Submission of applications at the municipal General Registry, at number 9 Juan José Ruano Street, for twenty calendar days starting from the day following the announcement in the Official State Gazette.
• Publication of successive announcements on the electronic Notice Board of the Torrelavega City Council and on the municipal website.
• Constitution of the Qualifying Tribunal consisting of a president and four members, along with the Corporation’s secretary.

The resolution was signed in Torrelavega on October 20, 2026, by the mayor-president, Javier López Estrada.

Closing

The cut leaves five positions in a call that aimed to reinforce the staff of the Fire and Rescue Service of Torrelavega, in a context of widespread expiration of municipal public employment offers. For the candidates, the process moves forward with three fewer positions and with the rules remaining intact in all other respects.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, number 205, of October 26, 2026, section 2.2, page 54900 (official reference: CVE-2026-8279).