The PEPIF Brigade, based in Vila Formosa, combines fire response with a community-based approach rooted in Integrated Fire Management

Paragominas now has a new brigade dedicated to forest fire prevention and suppression. The initiative was coordinated by the Earth Innovation Institute (EII), in partnership with the Pará State Secretariat for the Environment, Climate, and Sustainability (SEMAS-PA) and the Paragominas Municipal Secretariat for Green Spaces and the Environment, as part of efforts to strengthen fire management in the region.

The brigade is based in Vila Formosa, in an area close to the main fire hotspots identified in the region. This strategic location allows for expanded preventive actions within communities and ensures a faster response in the event of a fire.

The initiative is yet another action under Pará’s State Program for the Prevention and Control of Forest Fires (PEPIF) and is also aligned with the methodology of the “Innovative Counties: Fire, Production, and Forest” program, led by EII. What sets this initiative apart is its adoption of a community-based, multisectoral Integrated Fire Management approach, which seeks to understand how fire is used in the landscape and to strengthen prevention through dialogue with communities.

PEPIF was established by decree in 2025 and began operations that year with four brigades in the state of Pará. In 2026, the program was expanded to 11 brigades, including the unit established in Paragominas, in Vila Formosa.

According to Tobias Brancher, Director of Environmental Inspection at SEMAS-PA, the brigade’s presence in the area represents an opportunity to bring prevention efforts closer to the communities. “This brigade stands out for its more community-focused approach. To strengthen this relationship with the community, we reach out to local leaders to learn about local economic arrangements (ou também systems) and understand how the community uses fire.”

The brigade’s work also aims to go beyond simply responding to fires. “In addition to firefighting, PEPIF places a strong emphasis on prevention. So this is a brigade that will be heavily involved in prevention and raising awareness in collaboration with community leaders,” explains the director.

EII also supports the brigade’s operations in the region by providing logistics and supplies, including mobile internet to support the brigade members’ activities in the field. The brigade consists of five firefighters, led by a military firefighter, and will prioritize operations near communities in the region.

Integrating Stakeholders to Combat Fires at Their Source

For Antônio Lobato, director of sustainable agricultural strategy at EII, the establishment of the brigade represents a step forward in the strategy of the Innovative Counties program, which seeks to integrate different stakeholders around the region’s challenges.

“With the coming together of small, medium, and large producers, the city government, SEMAS — Pará, Civil Defense, and the Municipal Secretariat of the Environment, there are numerous stakeholders working toward a common goal. This creates tremendous synergy and greatly increases the project’s chances of success. Paragominas will serve as a model that we can replicate in other regions.”

For Dominique Castanheira, Paragominas’ Municipal Secretary for Green Spaces and the Environment, coordination among different institutions is one of the initiative’s key distinguishing features. “For the municipality, the brigade is extremely necessary, especially because today we are facing a project that involves joint coordination. So this makes all the difference.”

The secretary also highlights the participation of various sectors of public administration and civil society in developing the strategy, including the State Secretariat for the Environment, the municipal government and its secretariats, Civil Defense, the EII, and the Forum of Rural Communities.

“We are dealing with a completely different model of action, focusing directly on prevention and supported by the Earth Innovation Institute, which is bringing a unique approach to this community.”

Integrated Fire Management

The establishment of the fire brigade in Vila Formosa reinforces the view that forest fire prevention depends not only on a rapid response once a fire is already out of control, but also on the ability to understand the practices, needs, and dynamics of fire use in the area.

By bringing firefighters closer to communities, integrating institutions, and supporting prevention efforts, Innovative Counties seeks to strengthen local capacities and promote a community-based approach to Integrated Fire Management.

According to Warley Rodrigues, EII’s Integrated Fire Management coordinator, the brigade’s main distinguishing feature lies precisely in the combination of firefighting and understanding the ways fire is used in the region. “In most situations, brigades focus purely and simply on fighting fires. This brigade, however, will focus on understanding the use of fire. That is what sets this brigade apart: arriving and understanding the use of fire in the landscape to tailor the response in partnership with the community itself, based on an understanding of how fire is used in the landscape — where, when, and how it will be used.”

For the EII, this approach helps strengthen a more integrated and participatory approach to fire management, in which local knowledge is a fundamental part of the prevention strategy.