Gabriel Muñoz (APTB): The fire service sector faces increasingly complex challenges

What are the key areas in which the APTB carries out its work?

At the Professional Association of Fire Service Technicians (APTB), we focus our work on three key areas: fire prevention, ongoing technical training for emergency services professionals, and dissemination of self-protection measures aimed at the general public.

What is your main goal for 2026?

Our main goal for 2026 remains ambitious, yet essential: to reduce the number of fatalities from house fires to zero. To make progress towards this goal, we are stepping up our campaigns for the widespread installation of smoke detectors in homes – an affordable device that has been proven to save lives effectively. In this context, our partnership with the Mapfre Foundation also plays a significant role in the development of our outreach and social awareness initiatives.

On the technical front, we remain committed to standardising equipment and operational procedures at a national level, with the aim of strengthening the coordination and effectiveness of all fire services.

What are the main challenges currently facing your sector?

The sector is facing increasingly complex challenges, driven by far-reaching social and technological changes. On the one hand, the ageing population is leading to an increase in the number of vulnerable people living alone, which means that prevention strategies in the home must be adapted.

On the other hand, the emergence of new risks, such as fires associated with lithium-ion batteries found in electric scooters, electric vehicles or photovoltaic installations, calls for an urgent update to both current regulations and response tactics.

These challenges must be tackled proactively by improving the Technical Building Code (CTE), investing in applied research and strengthening preventive education from an early age.

How important is dialogue between public authorities and companies in the sector in tackling the challenges you mention?

Dialogue between public authorities and companies in the sector is essential. Comprehensive safety can only be understood through cooperation: public agencies establish the regulatory framework and manage the emergency response, whilst the business sector contributes innovation, technological development and new materials that improve protection for both emergency personnel and the general public.

In this context, public-private collaboration becomes a key factor, as it enables the promotion of projects aimed at raising awareness, prevention and technical improvement, which would be difficult to carry out in isolation.

Which of APTB’s initiatives on prevention and safety would you highlight?

We would like to highlight one of our most significant projects: Fire Prevention Week, which is now in its 21st year. This initiative visits locations across Spain and exemplifies the value of institutional collaboration, bringing together host city councils, the Mapfre Foundation, the various Fire and Rescue Services (SEIS) and our association. Throughout this year, the programme is visiting numerous towns and cities across Spain, with events already having taken place or planned in cities such as Bilbao, Logroño, Toledo, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, La Coruña, Cádiz, Valencia and Ávila, amongst others.

A particular highlight of this programme is the Car Crash Show (CCS), one of the most striking awareness-raising initiatives. These are live demonstrations of simulated road traffic accidents, in which the emergency services recreate a road traffic incident with great realism and show, step by step, how a real-life emergency response unfolds: from the extraction of the victims to the coordination of all personnel.

The powerful visual and emotional impact of these simulations makes the viewer a first-hand witness to the consequences of reckless driving, creating an impression that is hard to forget. It is not just a demonstration; it is an experience that leaves a lasting impression.

CCS events attract huge crowds, typically drawing hundreds of people in each city, which consolidates them as one of the most effective tools for raising awareness, particularly amongst young people and new drivers.

Thanks to the Prevention Week campaign, we have succeeded in providing thousands of schoolchildren and older people with essential knowledge on how to prevent risks at home and respond correctly in an emergency.