Last minute deal saves Benidorm's Fallas

THIS year’s Fallas festivals in Benidorm and Pego were in real danger of being postponed due to threatened lack of fire cover, until a last minute deal was done between the two authorities concerned and the committee representing the fire brigades (the Provincial Fire Consortium Alicante).

Both towns pledged to meet the outstanding debt owed to their fire departments, and Benidorm’s mayor Augustin Navarro agreed to meet directly with the Consortium to reassure them of the town’s good intentions.

“Even allowing for the liquidity problems experienced by some towns, you cannot make exceptions to evade obligations,” said Luisa Pastor, president of the Alicante Provisional Council.

Without the arrival of the fallas, and the prospect of them being cancelled, with the economic and political fallout that would have accompanied such, some sources believe a commitment to meet the outstanding debt would not have been gained.