Funicular Crash Sparks Firefighters’ Push for Yearly Lift Checks Across Portugal

Portugal’s fire-service union is turning up the heat on building owners and public authorities after the deadly derailment of Lisbon’s Elevador da Glória. The group wants compulsory elevator inspections and, just as crucially, a nationwide habit of emergency drills. For foreigners who live or invest here—often in mid-rise condos with ageing lifts—the debate goes beyond headlines and cuts straight to daily safety.

Why overseas residents should care

Moving to Portugal often means swapping single-family homes for apartment blocks where lifts are the only practical route to higher floors. Retirees, digital nomads and families with strollers all depend on reliable elevators, yet many are surprised to learn that inspection cycles can stretch to 6 years. The firefighters’ association argues that such gaps leave plenty of time for wear, vandalism or lax maintenance to grow into catastrophe. Visitors, too, hop on Lisbon’s iconic funiculars—classed as historic cable installations—and assume they are regulated like modern lifts. Recent events show that assumption is risky.

Firefighters demand a cultural shift

Fernando Curto, president of the Associação Nacional de Bombeiros Profissionais (ANBP), says Portugal suffers from a “missing habit” of drills. In his view, nothing short of a calendar of routine inspections and live exercises—with firefighters on site—will do. He insists that repeating drills will expose small faults before they snowball, while also giving crews intimate knowledge of each machine’s quirks. “If we practise in peacetime, the odds of tragedy plummet,” he told reporters after the Glória accident that killed 16 and injured more than 20.

What the rulebook already says—and where it falls short

The backbone of Portugal’s lift law is Decreto-Lei 320/2002, which requires every owner to keep a maintenance contract with a certified company and to submit the lift to periodic checks. Depending on the building’s use, the interval may be 2, 4 or 6 years; highly trafficked public venues can be on a 2-year schedule, while smaller residential blocks wait longer. Municipalities act as supervisors, and failure to comply carries hefty fines. However, the legislation predates the country’s tourist boom and does not address today’s congested elevators or the explosion of short-term rentals. A separate, newer decree pulled historic cable cars—such as Santa Justa, Bica, Lavra and Glória—out of the mobility regulator’s remit, leaving oversight largely to the operator. Critics call that a loophole big enough to ride a tram through.

A year of sobering reminders

Official national statistics are patchy, but the September 2025 crash on the Glória line stands as the worst lift-related disaster in recent memory. Within minutes, 60 firefighters and 19 ambulances converged on the scene, highlighting both the competence of first responders and the stakes when things go wrong. Smaller incidents rarely make news, yet elevator technicians say frequent entrapments and minor falls point to uneven maintenance standards. For expats who may not know the local emergency number, the episode underscores the value of memorising 112 and understanding building evacuation routes.

Practical steps for tenants, landlords and tourists

Foreign residents can take several low-friction measures to protect themselves. Ask the condominium board for the lift’s most recent inspection report; by law it should be posted or available on request. When renting, include a maintenance clause that obliges the owner to keep the service contract current. Travellers queueing for Lisbon’s vintage lifts should scan the cab for a visible emergency call button and a plaque showing inspection dates. And everyone, newcomer or local, should join evacuation drills when offered; they last minutes but can save lives.

What happens next?

The Interior Ministry has signalled that a revision of Decreto-Lei 320/2002 is on the table. Early drafts point to tighter surveillance of mixed-use buildings and mandatory annual simulations for elevators carrying large passenger volumes. Meanwhile, ANBP vows to keep lobbying municipalities to schedule joint drills with firefighters, maintenance crews and building managers. If the proposal gains traction, Portugal could move from a reactive to a preventive stance—reassuring for anyone who relies on that familiar ding and sliding door to start the day.