Fuengirola equips firefighters with two new pumps to tackle flooding
Fuengirola town hall has given its fire service two electric pumps, each able to remove 25 litres of water per second, to help crews deal with several flooded sites at once during heavy rain.
By Costa del Sol Journal Newsroom · · AI-assisted
Fuengirola's ayuntamiento (town hall) has added two new electric pumps to its municipal fire and rescue service to strengthen its response to heavy rain and flooding, the council announced on 6 November 2026.
The equipment was presented by José Luis Ponce, the councillor responsible for Seguridad Ciudadana (public safety). According to the town hall, the extra pumps will let firefighters work at several points across the town at the same time and deal more effectively with problems caused by downpours.
What the pumps can do
Each pump can extract up to 1,500 litres a minute, equivalent to 25 litres per second, according to the council. Running together at full power, the pair can shift 3,000 litres a minute, or 50 litres per second. Ponce compared each pump's output to emptying five five-litre water jugs every second.
The town hall said the pumps are not limited to clean water. They can also handle dirty water, seawater and mud, which the council described as particularly useful when rain washes soil and sludge into areas where water collects.
The units have a maximum lift height of 20 metres, meaning they can draw water out of spaces below street level, such as basements and underground garages.
With the two new pumps added to the equipment the service already had, Fuengirola's firefighters now have a combined pumping capacity of around 12,300 litres a minute, according to the council. The town hall did not give a cost for the purchase in its announcement.
Why it matters
Ponce said flooding caused by heavy rain is one of the climate risks the town faces most often, and that when it happens many parts of Fuengirola can be affected at once. In the council's statement, he said the new pumps would allow crews to answer more calls and, where necessary, concentrate resources on the places where the largest volumes of water need removing.
The councillor added that he hoped the pumps would never be needed, but acknowledged that sooner or later they probably would be, and said he wanted firefighters to have everything required to help residents. He said the council would not cut corners on safety.
For residents, particularly those in ground-floor flats or buildings with basement parking, the announcement means the local fire service should be better placed to pump out flooded premises and to cover more incidents simultaneously during storms.
