Paredes, Portugal, June 1, 2026 (Lusa) - The president of the Portuguese Firefighters’ League, António Nunes, spoke out on Sunday against fire chiefs commenting in the media on ongoing fires, arguing that they should only speak “as private citizens”.

Asked about the statements made by the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Rui Rocha, who said that no one would be allowed to get away with making statements about firefighting resources, the head of the Portuguese Firefighters’ League denied that this amounted to a “gag order”.

“It is true that they can [speak], but as citizens, and therefore, they cannot interpret or make statements of principle because they do not represent the official bodies of the fire service,” argued António Nunes, speaking to journalists on the sidelines of National Firefighters’ Day, which took place in Paredes, in the district of Porto.

When asked about the same issue, Portugal's internal affairs minister, Luís Neves, said that “people cannot just go off on their own and speak out”.

‘What he [the Secretary of State for Civil Protection] said, precisely, is that those who go out into the field and, above all, provide support, cannot arrive at the scene and say they have no defined objective for their intervention,’ stated Luís Neves, assuring that there is no “gag order” whatsoever.

“There is freedom; people can speak. What I mean is that, and I’ll say it again, at the right times, there are appropriate places to voice criticism. And that criticism, naturally, must be transparent; it must be understandable to everyone,” he emphasised.

According to the minister, “in times of crisis, in times of stress, what matters is unity and not, in fact, communications that could undermine collective efforts”.

JFO/ADB // ADB.

Lusa