One year ago, in June 2021, I completed the Training Course for Fire Brigade Members of the Forest Fire Prevention and Combat Program of the State Forest Institute (MG). Now, during the dry season, I am starting to prepare myself to be available as a volunteer in firefighting efforts, which have been increasing in recent years, especially in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte.

From January to December of last year, there was an increase of over 17% in fire incidents compared to 2020 and over 30% compared to 2019 throughout the state. In the Metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, there were 1,805 reports from January to August 2020. In 2021, it rose to 3,158, which corresponds to a 75% increase during the same period.