Commander Paulo Santos also says that the volunteer firefighters “gave a sign that, when they want, things get done”.
I regret that the Firefighters' League, INEM and Civil Protection did not sit down together and draw up a plan
Monday, 12 January 2026RSS
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Context & Explainers
The National Institute of Medical Emergency (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica), known as INEM, coordinates Portugal’s pre-hospital emergency care, ambulance dispatch and medical response to 112 calls. It matters to expats because INEM is responsible for ambulance response times and on-scene care — incidents like the reported three-hour wait in Seixal can trigger investigations, affect public confidence and influence how quickly you can expect help in an emergency.
