Heatwaves and a lack of rain have made Spain's forest firefighters busier than ever this year and many are unhappy that they are not being rewarded for their efforts.

Over the summer there were major fires breaking out on an almost weekly basis, where men and women put their lives at risk to battle the blazes. They say their current wages and working conditions are totally inadequate for the increased demands of their job.

And the forest firefighters have been protesting as they seek an improvement in conditions.

"This job has always been very dangerous, of course now due to changes in the climate condition we have more and bigger fires," Ivan Frank, one of the protest organizers told CGTN Europe.

"But this job has always been very dangerous with high levels of toxicity. Since the 80s and until now we have lost a lot of colleagues."

So far in 2022, Spain has recorded nearly 400 forest fires, resulting in 287,000 hectares of woodland being destroyed.

The extreme temperatures and long drought has made the summer of 2022 one of the worst on record.

Firefighters in all but name

The unions are calling for the immediate implementation of the 'Wildfire firefighters statute.'

The legislation would give more protection to forest firefighters in terms of wages, and job security.

And the main demand of the protesters is that they be recognized in law as firefighters.

At the moment they are contracted as forestry workers meaning they don't get the same level of protection in terms of insurance and healthcare as regular firefighters, even though their job carries the same element of risk.

The other big issue in this dispute is the cost of living crisis.

Forest firefighters, like many other workers in Spain, say their current wage levels aren't keeping pace with inflation.

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When you add the dangerous nature of their profession, plus the huge toll it takes on their mental health, many like forest firefighter Javier Sanchez are asking if their current salary is simply worth the risk.

"Honestly, regarding what we get paid, it is not worth the risk. However, we do this because it is our passion, we do this because we like to protect the natural heritage of this country but its not worth it because politicians keep us in total precariousness," he said. 

"Summer after summer we firefighters risk our lives to defend our wilderness and once summer is over the contract of lots of them expires and we have to look for other jobs until next summer. So no, we don't get what we deserve after all the risks and putting our lives at stake."

The ongoing impact of climate change suggests the summer of wildfires we had in Spain in 2022 may well be repeated in the years to come.

Making Spain's forest firefighter service even more vital.