Convenios Bomberiles en Boyacá: Déficit de Cobertura, Vacíos Normativos y Consecuencias Jurídicas de su Omisión Municipal

Abstract

The provision of the essential public service of comprehensive fire risk management is a legal obligation of municipalities that is nonetheless repeatedly disregarded in the department of Boyacá. As of August 2026, more than twenty five municipalities in Boyacá had no valid agreement in force with a fire brigade, amid a prolonged dry season and alerts for vegetation fires across much of the territory. This research article argues that such non-compliance stems not only from budgetary constraints but also from a regulatory grey area that for years left undefined the selection procedure applicable to contracting with volunteer fire brigades, and which has been used to justify administrative inaction. Drawing on the analysis of the current legal framework, recent pronouncements by the National Public Procurement Agency and the Office of the Inspector General, and Council of State case law on service failure by omission, it is argued that failing to execute the fire service agreement in a timely manner is neither a matter of administrative discretion nor a mere management delay, but conduct capable of triggering disciplinary, patrimonial and fiscal liability, while also enabling the filing of a popular action for the protection of collective rights. The paper concludes by proposing that the pending regulatory update should focus less on creating new obligations and more on making existing ones enforceable