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Enhanced mode
Before midnight, a message reaches firefighters: An open flame is burning in a house in Žaliakalnis. It has three adults and a five-year-old boy. Lives saved.
Successive ambulance requests helped transport around 130kg and 120kg and load them into ambulances.
Firefighters flew in and received a message that the oil had caught fire in the pan. When firefighters arrived, there were no signs of burns, just smoking hanging kitchen cabinets.
Firefighters also had to explain the residents’ complaint that neighbors were having barbecues on the balcony. Smoke on the balconies was not visible, a resident of the specified department was contacted, who stated that he did not bake any meat products on the balcony.
The car went off the road, the woman inside could not get out, another task for the firefighters. As it turned out, later on, the car coming off the road collided with a tree. The driver inside the car was deliberate, not squeezed, but the driver’s side door was squeezed shut so he couldn’t get out of the car. The door opened, the woman was handed over to the doctors.
It’s just a drop in the messages that firefighters receive every day. This was the case before the quarantine, and it is still happening today, but in addition to the safety requirements of a dangerous profession, firefighters must also take care of protection against the coronavirus.
“We are on duty in enhanced mode. There are some drawbacks. It is not enough to think only about the necessary security measures, precautions, but also about the possible threat of infection. Of course, during fires rescuers work with special clothing, but if there is information that there were people who were sick or in contact with the sick, clothing, machinery, the equipment that we use in this work must be disinfected additionally, “- Vidas Barauskas, head of the Kaunas Fire and Rescue Board, says about additional concerns that may become common.
Rescue teams are protected from the lowest risk of infection.
It is not that, but a celebration.
Firefighters also mentioned their professional vacations differently. “It was mentioned through the Zoom platform. However, some ancient traditions have been preserved,” Diena Džiuginta Vaitkevičienė, spokesperson for the Kaunas Fire and Rescue Board, told Kauno. As every year, on May 4 at 10 a.m., the chaplain of military structures Tom Karklys offered mass for firefighters and their families in the Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Sobore).
All participants could attend this mass remotely. However, as the orchestra marched, the fire brigade could not march on Liberty Avenue, nor could it hold an open house for the public.
The firefighter awards for merit and dedicated work were different this year. They were also received by Colonel V. Barauskas, Head of the Internal Service, through the Zoom platform, and not shaking hands with each person in person.
“It is unfortunate that we were unable to meet. We like to communicate directly. We also strive to promote our profession, so the absence of walking and open days is not much fun. Such a beautiful tradition has developed.”
Don’t lose vigilance
Unlike before, rescuers also choose to work. The daily change of firefighters has changed more than the changes that change after they are not on hold. “Some leave and only then others come. Colleagues do not even say goodbye. As usual, it was customary to transmit the observations of the previous day, to speak,” Mindaugas Belickas, the head of the fifth team of the Fire and Rescue Board of Kaunas, mention the changes at work.
Belickas Mindaugas
And that’s not all. The rescuers from the guard team try to keep each other, while joking, at a respectful distance. More than once, rescuers had to get up from the table as soon as they sat down to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, the red call sign significantly chilled the prepared drinks.
“Well, we can sit at the table for tea. We still attend events in a car, it is inevitable, but for the safety of all of us and our families, we try to do everything according to the recommendations,” Belick continued.
The team leader admitted that at the beginning of the knowledge about the pandemic and the quarantine in Lithuania, when the situation seemed critical and the firefighters were not in a good mood, we, like everyone else, were overwhelmed by uncertainty and tension.
“Psychologists have recommended how to behave with managers, how to inspire courage, confidence. The manager should also lead by behaving calmly, without fever. That’s what we did. I talked to men all the time, so” Where, who as. And we are still communicating. The mood and atmosphere in the ranks of the rescuers is quite good “, – said M. Belickas calmly.
However, it is worth noting the crucial moment not only for rescuers themselves. A society that respects them could also take note. “We always emphasize not to lose vigilance, because the virus is insidious and invisible. Here, the crucial moment is not to lose vigilance and not to let the virus enter,” said the fifth team commander, daily reminders to colleagues and subordinates. .
In particular, we must comply with the discipline, quarantine requirements, and strict procedures to prevent coronavirus contamination of swarms.
In addition to the second jobs
Daily discipline and order did not allow any rescuer to become infected with the coronavirus. Basically, the slightest bit of oversight can get the entire service off the line, not just one shift, but the entire team. “I am pleased that, due to our discipline, it has not been established that any firefighter has been infected with the coronavirus. And so, not only in Kaunas, but throughout the region,” Kaunas rescue commander V. Barauskas praised the men’s conscience.
Firefighters who come to the service are checked every time to see if they feel well and have no complaints. Each report is considered. Officials from the operations management department discuss very responsibly whether firefighters come to him. “Of course, we are ready, equipped with special disinfectants. But we are careful about how to answer the call.
By order of the Chief of the Fire and Rescue Department, firefighters were prohibited from doing a second job. Before quarantine, rescuers were not prohibited from doing other work between shifts. However, the pandemic limited these opportunities. Rescue teams are protected from the lowest risk of infection.
Practical and theoretical classes for rescuers are conducted remotely. It is not that only the necessary assistance remains. Everything happens normally, but much more complicated.
“In particular, we must adhere to discipline, quarantine requirements and strict procedures to prevent coronavirus infections from entering squadrons,” said V. Karauskas emphasized the need for discipline.
Fewer fires
When it comes to the daily life of firefighters, there is an inevitable shift towards disaster statistics. And here is the good news. During the same period last year, from the beginning of the year to May, there were 1,056 fires. This year – 676.
What does this number mean? “People are realizing it, they are becoming citizens, they report infractions, they follow the fire rules. The number of smoke detectors is growing and this contributes to improving statistics,” says V. Barauskas.
However, he continues to emphasize that there is no single indicator. The decreasing number of fires is influenced by a multitude of measures, its general set and the help of the media, when announcing fires, their causes, sad consequences, possible prevention, contribute to the decrease in the number of fires.
Paradoxically, but with the decrease in the number of fires, the number of people killed is greater than last year during the same period. “We have been talking about the portrait of a person who died in a fire for many years. In most cases, it does not change. However, there is a lack of awareness from the previous generation. Most disasters are caused for harmful habits “, V. Barauskas mentions.
Several fires broke out this year, killing several people each. According to the chief, the fire was small, but people were suffocated. Smoking in bed is a common cause of this disaster. “It is difficult to reach such people because they do not respect the social norms of life. Such disasters generally occur when they receive social benefits,” police, doctors and child protection specialists also consider social benefit days in the black period.
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