Firefighters are the guardian angels of the most vulnerable
In the Lisbon Fire Brigade Regiment, there is a group of operatives who fight other fires every day. These are the fires of abandonment and loneliness. When an elderly person is referred to the Social Intervention Center for Citizen Support, they know that they will never be left behind.
Social Intervention Center for Citizen Support (NISAC)
Service of the Lisbon Fire Brigade Regiment (RSBL), created in 2009
With the mission of providing social support to the city's elderly population, this unit identifies and flags up situations of social vulnerability and housing insecurity, which can be reported via the RSB's contact lines or directly to the operatives. It is made up of 13 members of the Regiment who are completely dedicated to this mission.
Divided into shifts, the NISAC operatives accompany the elderly population who have been flagged up and promote awareness-raising actions to prevent fires and falls in the home. These actions include interventions in the theater of operations and presentations at events, webinars and themed meetings, to provide knowledge and tools to promote the safety and autonomy of the elderly.
After registering, the situations are forwarded to the competent entities that are the RSB's social partners - the Lisbon City Council's Department for Social Rights (DDS-CML), the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML), the Public Security Police, parish councils, the Lisbon Municipal Police, the Lisbon Municipal Civil Protection Service, Social Security, among others - for the appropriate response to each citizen's needs.
In cases of greater urgency in terms of basic care for the survival of the citizen and while the home support of the competent entities does not find a solution, NISAC provides a Social Emergency Kit, made up of non-perishable and ready-to-eat food, with the aim of guaranteeing the victim's subsistence for an estimated period of between 48 and 72 hours. This kit consists of water, fruit, legumes, cereals, milk, coffee, tea and cookies.
Telecare service
The Teleassistance Service is free of charge and available every day, 24 hours a day, to respond to situations of vulnerability or dependency among the population aged 65 or over and residents with a disability or chronic illness resulting in incapacity of 60% or more.
This service can reach the home of the citizen who activates it quickly - within 5 to 7 minutes. It consists of a panic button installed on a bracelet or necklace which, in turn, is connected to a box installed in the home. By activating the button, a call is made to the RSBL communications center, guaranteeing personalized service and immediate help in emergency situations.
To sign up for this service, residents must fill in an application form, present their identity card (ID) or citizen's card (CC) and proof of residence. This request can be made by the individual, family members, parish councils or the social network.
Related data
In 2023
- The SOS Line registered around 34,000 contacts
- The Teleassistance Service had 930 users, 329 of whom used the panic button.
From January to May 2024
- NISAC carried out 344 incidents of social support, 184 teleassistance services, 35 of which were the result of new registrations of users of this free CML service.