
Story #5: Fireman who took part in fighting a major blaze
"Entering a building on fire entails many risks. Smoke intoxication, collapse, burns and so on. So when you tackle fires and evacuate the victims from the hellish conditions, you take enormous risks. The loss of friends and colleagues, as well as victims, is unfortunately an everyday occurrence. But despite all these risks, I realise that from the victims’ viewpoint, we only do half the job. When I took this person out of the fire, she still wasn’t safe. Burned, unconscious and definitely suffering from smoke intoxication, she was probably also in shock. There was lots still to do when I handed her over to the paramedics. We could lose her any second. I learned a while later that she was DOA at the hospital. That’s why I would say that in reality, we only do part of the job. The paramedics had to put everything into stabilising her in the ambulance and getting her to hospital as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, it isn’t always enough. We give it our heart and soul, since even if even things don’t turn out the way we want, we give the victims a chance, and that’s definitely the main thing."
- San PelÍcano Stories [1/10]
- Don’t talk to me about karma or destiny | San PelÍcano Stories [2/10]
- At that point I did start running | San PelÍcano Stories [3/10]
- It was no longer a game | San PelÍcano Stories [4/10]