Madrid will study legal actions against a group of forest firefighters on strike for their actions during the emergency.

In the Community of Madrid, the eventual “sanction” of forest firefighters would generally be carried out through administrative means (disciplinary authority of the regional Administration or the contracting company) and, on a different level, could lead to political accountability for the public officials who managed the emergency. Disciplinary responsibility affects the specific individuals (firefighters), while political responsibility is channeled in the Assembly of Madrid against counselors and senior officials. These are different levels that can coexist but follow separate procedures. The general theoretical framework is detailed below.

1. Administrative disciplinary authority over forest firefighters

1.1. Identification of the legal relationship

Before sanctioning, the Administration must determine the status of each forest firefighter, because the regime and procedure may vary:

• Civil servants or statutory personnel: staff belonging to the Community of Madrid, subject to a public disciplinary regime.
• Public labor personnel: workers of public companies or entities of the autonomous community, with a combined disciplinary regime (administrative and labor law).
• Subcontracted personnel: employees of a private company awarded the service; the direct disciplinary relationship is with the company, under the clauses of the administrative contract and labor legislation.

1.2. Initiation of the sanctioning procedure

To open a sanctioning file, there must be facts indicatively constituting an infraction (for example, disobedience of orders, abandonment of service, etc.), documented in service reports, commanders’ reports, or internal records. The procedure, in general terms, requires:

• Initiation agreement: a reasoned resolution describing the facts, their possible classification, and the allegedly responsible person.
• Appointment of instructor and secretary of the file (when the applicable regime requires it) to guarantee objectivity.

1.3. Processing of the file

The disciplinary procedure must respect the basic guarantees of the interested party:

• Statement of charges: detailed notification of the facts, the possible infraction, and the proposed sanction, granting a period for allegations.
• Evidence gathering: possibility to propose and gather evidence (witnesses, documents, expert reports, recordings of communications during the emergency, etc.).
• Resolution proposal: reasoned document from the instructor evaluating facts and evidence and proposing, if applicable, the specific sanction.
• Allegations to the proposal: a new step for the person under investigation to defend themselves against the proposed sanction.

Finally, the competent body issues a sanctioning or dismissal resolution, always reasoned and notified. In the case of subcontracted companies, there may be a parallel internal labor file and, if the contract allows, the Community of Madrid could demand contractual responsibilities from the company (penalties, termination, etc.), but the direct sanction to the worker normally corresponds to the company.

1.4. Appeals and judicial review

Against the sanctioning resolution, generally available are:

• Administrative appeals (reconsideration, appeal, or others provided by regional regulations) before a higher body.
• Contentious-administrative appeal before the courts, once the administrative route is exhausted, to review the legality of the sanction.

In the case of labor personnel, specific social jurisdiction channels may also be activated when the sanction has intense labor consequences (suspension of employment and salary, dismissal, etc.).

2. Political responsibilities in the Assembly of Madrid

2.1. Nature of parliamentary control

The demand for political responsibilities is not aimed at “sanctioning” the firefighters, but at overseeing the actions of the political officials (competent Counselor, Deputy Counselor, Director General, etc.) in managing the emergency and in decisions that may have influenced service orders. According to the general description of parliamentary control, the Parliament supervises and oversees the Government’s actions to ensure transparency and accountability.

2.2. Control instruments in the Assembly of Madrid

Applying by analogy the usual parliamentary control instruments, the Assembly of Madrid could use, among others:

• Oral or written questions to the Government Council or the competent Counselor, to clarify given orders, operational criteria, or possible instructions on sanctions.
• Interpellations on general policy regarding emergencies and fire management, which may lead to a specific political debate in the Plenary.
• Motions derived from an interpellation, urging the regional Government to modify protocols, revoke instructions, review disciplinary files, or dismiss responsible parties.
• Appearances of the Counselor, senior officials, or technical managers before the competent parliamentary commission, to provide detailed explanations.
• Investigation commissions if groups consider that the emergency management and/or sanctioning policy has special political or social relevance.
• Requests for information and documentation to access files, internal protocols, or technical reports, to the extent they are not protected by legal confidentiality.

2.3. Demands for resignations or dismissals

The Parliament does not legally impose a disciplinary “sanction” on firefighters, but it can politically pressure the regional Government through motions, censures, or parliamentary resolutions. These can urge the dismissal of a Counselor or Director General, or the filing or review of disciplinary files. The final decision to dismiss or not a senior official corresponds to the President of the Community of Madrid and the Government itself, but the political cost is articulated through these control instruments.

According to current regional legislation, the Directorate General of Emergencies of the Community of Madrid is a general directorate integrated into the Madrid 112 Security and Emergencies Agency and primarily exercises the leadership and planning of the Firefighters Corps and the Forest Agents Corps, as well as the prevention and extinction of fires and collaboration with other administrations in emergency matters. Its functions are centrally detailed in Decree 217/2023, of July 26, of the Government Council, which establishes the management structure of the Madrid 112 Security and Emergencies Agency. Additionally, it is framed within the system created by Law 5/2023, of March 22, for the Creation of the Integrated Civil Protection and Emergencies System of the Community of Madrid and within the organic dependency of the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, and Interior.

Basic regulatory framework

The competencies and functions of the Directorate General of Emergencies are mainly supported by:

• Decree 217/2023, of July 26, of the Government Council, which establishes the management structure of the Madrid 112 Security and Emergencies Agency (Decree 217/2023). Articles 3 and 4 contain the core competencies and internal structure of the Directorate General of Emergencies.
• Law 5/2023, of March 22, for the Creation of the Integrated Civil Protection and Emergencies System of the Community of Madrid (Law 5/2023), which regulates the Integrated System and assigns functions to the Madrid 112 Agency and its directorates.
• Decree 235/2023, of September 6, of the Government Council, which establishes the organic structure of the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, and Interior (Decree 235/2023), which places the Directorate of the Madrid 112 Security and Emergencies Agency within the ministry.

Additionally, Decree 217/2023 expressly refers to article 47 of Law 1/1983, of December 13, on Government and Administration of the Community of Madrid, regarding the general powers of general directors, and connects the functions of the Directorate General of Emergencies with specific sectoral regulations such as the Revised Text of the Law on Prevention, Extinction of Fires, and Rescue Services (Legislative Decree 1/2006, of September 28) and Law 1/2002, of March 27, on the Creation of the Forest Agents Corps.

Main material competencies

According to article 3 of Decree 217/2023, the Directorate General of Emergencies is particularly responsible for the following major areas of competence:

• Direction of operational bodies: exercises the direction of the Firefighters Corps of the Community of Madrid and the direction of the Forest Agents Corps of the Community of Madrid, assuming the overall planning of their duties and actions.
• Prevention and extinction of fires: supervises the functions that the Revised Text approved by Legislative Decree 1/2006 assigns to the Firefighters Corps, develops and implements action plans in fire prevention and extinction and rescues, as well as regulations and criteria in fire prevention, including prevention and extinction of forest fires.
• Sanctioning authority in fires: instructs and proposes the resolution of sanctioning procedures for administrative infractions contemplated in Legislative Decree 1/2006.
• Recognitions and distinctions: processes files for awarding the Distinguished Services Medal, Service Medals, and Honorary Mention of the Firefighters Corps, and grants the title of Honorary Inspector or Firefighter, under Decree 94/1985, of July 4.
• Relations with local entities and other bodies: promotes collaboration with the different firefighter bodies existing in the Community of Madrid and advises and informs municipalities on fire prevention and extinction and risk and disaster prevention.
• Management of temporary human resources: approves, processes, resolves, and manages employment pools for temporary personnel in matters of forest fire prevention and extinction.
• Occupational risk prevention: plans, coordinates, and manages policies on occupational risk prevention for personnel serving the Firefighters Corps and the Forest Agents Corps, including monitoring the occupational health of the Firefighters Corps.
• Studies, information, and cooperation: develops studies, collects and updates information in its areas, cooperating with other organizations and institutions, and prepares proposals and reports on matters within its competence.
• Residual clause: assumes any other function that, in relation to its areas, may derive from applicable regulations or be delegated by the governing and management bodies of the Madrid 112 Agency.

Internal structure and position in the system

Article 4 of Decree 217/2023 establishes that the Directorate General of Emergencies is structured into two units with the organizational level of deputy general directorate:

• Head of the Firefighters Corps.
• Head of the Forest Agents Corps.

Organically, this general directorate is part of the management structure of the Madrid 112 Security and Emergencies Agency, whose management and governing bodies are also regulated in the same decree, and which is integrated into the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, and Interior according to Decree 235/2023. Functionally, its competencies are inserted in the Integrated Civil Protection and Emergencies System defined by Law 5/2023, in coordination with the other directorates of the Agency (Civil Protection, Security, and Economic and Personnel Management) and with other services such as 112 or SUMMA 112, although the direct management of the 112 number and the overall coordination of the System mainly correspond to the Directorate General of Civil Protection and the Agency’s own management, not to the Directorate General of Emergencies.

The labor and disciplinary regime of firefighters who attend forest fires in the Community of Madrid is built upon several regulations: Legislative Decree 1/2006, which establishes the statute of the Firefighters Corps as civil servants; the general regulations on public function and public employment; and, for external labor personnel, the Workers’ Statute and sectoral collective agreements (for example, the state collective agreement for forestry activities and those of companies such as TRAGSA or Norte Forestal). There is no, in the consulted sources, a specific “unique statute” only for the category of forest firefighter; they are integrated within the general framework of fire prevention and extinction services. The specific disciplinary regime of the firefighters of the Community of Madrid is detailed in Legislative Decree 1/2006 itself, which refers to the Madrid Public Function Law and adds particular faults and sanctions for this group.

1. Basic regional regulations (civil servants of the Firefighters Corps)

The central piece is Legislative Decree 1/2006, of September 28, which approves the Revised Text of the Law regulating the Prevention, Extinction of Fires, and Rescue Services of the Community of Madrid, published in the BOCM (revised text of fire services). This regulation:

• Defines the object of the service of fire prevention and extinction and rescues in the Community of Madrid, including forest fires.
• Regulates the functional organization of the service and the statutory regime of the personnel of the Firefighters Corps (civil servants).
• Establishes that working conditions are set with union participation and according to general public employment regulations.

Regarding the disciplinary regime, Legislative Decree 1/2006 provides that firefighters are governed by the Law 1/1986, of the Public Function of the Community of Madrid, and supplementary state regulations. Additionally, it adds its own catalog of:

• Very serious, serious, and minor faults, with specific examples (impeding the investigation of an incident, violation of professional secrecy, abandonment of post during an incident, consumption of alcohol or drugs on duty, etc.).
• Associated sanctions: dismissal from service, suspension of functions for various periods, change of assignment, immobilization in rank, suspension of employment and salary, and warning.
• Prescription periods for faults and sanctions and referral to the Disciplinary Regime Regulation of State civil servants for the sanctioning procedure.

Part of this regulation has been modified by Law 9/2010, of Fiscal, Administrative, and Rationalization Measures of the Public Sector (Law 9/2010), but the core of the disciplinary regime remains in force.

2. Working conditions of the Firefighters Corps (2021‑2025 agreement)

For details of the labor regime (working hours, service organization, special groups, etc.) the Agreement of April 26, 2021 of the Sectoral Table, approved by the Agreement of April 28, 2021 of the Government Council, applies, regulating the working conditions of the Firefighters Corps 2021‑2025, published in the BOCM (working conditions agreement 2021‑2025).

This Agreement develops, for civil servants of the Firefighters Corps (including those acting in forest fires):

• Scope of application to the Firefighters Corps of the Community of Madrid.
• Legal basis: cites the Basic Statute of the Public Employee (Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015), Legislative Decree 1/2006 itself, the general agreement on conditions of public employees of the Community of Madrid, Directive 2003/88/EC on working time, and Law 31/1995 on Occupational Risk Prevention.
• Organization of special groups, including a specific group of Forest Fires, within the Firefighters Corps, with provisions on personnel and selection and training requirements.

3. Public employment and administrative structure

The general public employment framework applied to these civil servants is supported by:

• The Basic Statute of the Public Employee, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015 (expressly cited in the 2021‑2025 Agreement).
• Law 11/2022, of Urgent Measures for the Promotion of Economic Activity and Modernization of the Administration of the Community of Madrid (Law 11/2022), partially modified by Law 16/2023, which impact modernization and administrative organization.
• Various decrees on the structure of ministries competent in interior, justice, and emergencies, such as Decree 191/2021, Decree 271/2019, Decree 87/2018, Decree 130/2017, Decree 192/2015, and Decree 94/2010, as well as the management structure of the Madrid 112 Security and Emergencies Agency, which regulate who has competencies over firefighters and emergencies.
• The specific Public Employment Offer for firefighters and forest agents (for example, Decree 39/2016).

4. Labor personnel for forest fire prevention and extinction

A relevant part of the forest fire prevention and extinction device may be entrusted to labor personnel of public or private companies (silvicultural work, crews, brigades, etc.). For this personnel, the basic framework is:

• The Workers’ Statute, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015 (revised text of the Workers’ Statute), with punctual modifications included, among others, in the 2021 labor reform, the 2018 regulation, the 2017 regulation, the 2017 port modification, and Law 1/2020 (on dismissal for absenteeism).
• Sectoral and company collective agreements, including the collective agreement for the forestry activities sector, the Norte Forestal, SA agreement, and agreements on TRAGSA (annex VII TRAGSA 2011, 2019 revision, 2025 modification), which specify professional classification, working hours, rest periods, hazard/arduousness bonuses, and internal disciplinary regime.

This personnel is also affected by general labor regulations (e.g., FOGASA resolutions of 2020 and of 2023) and other amending laws cited in the Workers’ Statute itself (Law 1/2014, Royal Decree-law 5/2013, revised text of 1995).

5. Other contextual regulations

The framework is completed by regional forestry and nature regulations (affected, for example, by Constitutional Court Ruling 214/2015), regulation of qualifications and training in safety and environment (Royal Decree 1031/2011, Order PRE/1614/2015, Royal Decree 624/2013, Royal Decree 906/2013, Royal Decree 260/2011, Order ECD/1527/2015) and, in the broader organizational scope, regional measures and budget laws (Law 3/2014, Law 5/2013, as well as Laws 6/2011, 18/2000, 8/2009, 5/2016, 9/2015, 7/2015, and 4/2012, accessible at [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], and [link]).