Ukraine: firefighters in Ukraine They used to have protocols, experience and kits to deal with whatever fire broke out. when war. with Russia Broken, that all changed.
As high-rise apartment blocks were hit and neighborhoods were shelled, they had to work out which burning houses to prioritize, which to save first, and then kilometers from a factory fire at the same time. How to get away
“When you walk in and you see six or seven apartments burning at the same time and you don’t know where some people are and you only have three trucks (is it) lucky lottery where you need to put your troops.” the wanted,” Roman KachanovHead of a fire station in Ukrainian city Kharkivtold Reuters.
Explaining the intricacies of dealing with multiple fires at once and rapidly changing orders for his team, he said: “You’ve already got all the work done and you need to replace it immediately. That would have made things worse.” Huh.”
He said: “It’s like the atmosphere in Iraq or Afghanistan, you don’t know what happened, they just bombed some place, we don’t know if they will bomb again?”
Kharkiv, which lies close to the Russian border in northeastern Ukraine, has been attacked with rockets and shells almost daily over the past six months, except for a lull in June.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, denied Kyiv’s allegations that it was deliberately targeting civilians. Kremlin This is called a “special military operation”.
Evgeny Vasilenkothe press officer state emergency service In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, it said firefighters had to put out the fire during shelling or repeated shelling. They now wear helmets and bulletproof jackets, which adds about 20 kg to the weight of their normal equipment, he said.
“Before and after the war starts, putting out a fire is very different,” he said.
In a statement in early August, he said that since the start of the war, firefighters in the area had extinguished 1,700 fires that were the result of shelling.
He said three firefighters were killed in the area and around 30 firefighters were injured.
Firefighters get extra money for exposure and shift patterns have been reorganized to ensure some comfort to employees. Between calls, as they would have done before February, firefighters train, exercise, play cards together, call loved ones or just fall asleep.
However after months of war, it is never enough. “I’m exhausted mentally and physically,” Kachanov says.
For the 33-year-old, the worst part of her role has been seeing dead children or children who have lost their parents.
“When you see dead children, it’s bad. It makes my eyes tear,” he said.
He remembers things he never thought he would experience. Recalling one such occasion, he said: “I don’t know how old the child was, the boy, maybe eight or nine, was perfectly fine. He had some shrapnel, some on him, but His mom and dad were dead and he was crying.”
his own daughter, ViolettaThe seven-year-old is in Germany with his wife Marina. “They have a wonderful family that has taken them in and all is well for them and I’m glad they are safe.”
On many days, he is too busy to think about or answer his wife’s calls. But he misses them.
“It all happens when you go after work and go to sleep,” he said. “I’d like to hug them. I’m used to telling my girl a story every night.”
Where they’re staying in Germany, they have an “amazing house” and a pool, he says. As they talk he tells Violet: “Just enjoy it and forget Papa while enjoying it. Just enjoy it and we’ll say, we’re still here, we’re still in touch, so everyone Something’s fine.”
As high-rise apartment blocks were hit and neighborhoods were shelled, they had to work out which burning houses to prioritize, which to save first, and then kilometers from a factory fire at the same time. How to get away
“When you walk in and you see six or seven apartments burning at the same time and you don’t know where some people are and you only have three trucks (is it) lucky lottery where you need to put your troops.” the wanted,” Roman KachanovHead of a fire station in Ukrainian city Kharkivtold Reuters.
Explaining the intricacies of dealing with multiple fires at once and rapidly changing orders for his team, he said: “You’ve already got all the work done and you need to replace it immediately. That would have made things worse.” Huh.”
He said: “It’s like the atmosphere in Iraq or Afghanistan, you don’t know what happened, they just bombed some place, we don’t know if they will bomb again?”
Kharkiv, which lies close to the Russian border in northeastern Ukraine, has been attacked with rockets and shells almost daily over the past six months, except for a lull in June.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, denied Kyiv’s allegations that it was deliberately targeting civilians. Kremlin This is called a “special military operation”.
Evgeny Vasilenkothe press officer state emergency service In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, it said firefighters had to put out the fire during shelling or repeated shelling. They now wear helmets and bulletproof jackets, which adds about 20 kg to the weight of their normal equipment, he said.
“Before and after the war starts, putting out a fire is very different,” he said.
In a statement in early August, he said that since the start of the war, firefighters in the area had extinguished 1,700 fires that were the result of shelling.
He said three firefighters were killed in the area and around 30 firefighters were injured.
Firefighters get extra money for exposure and shift patterns have been reorganized to ensure some comfort to employees. Between calls, as they would have done before February, firefighters train, exercise, play cards together, call loved ones or just fall asleep.
However after months of war, it is never enough. “I’m exhausted mentally and physically,” Kachanov says.
For the 33-year-old, the worst part of her role has been seeing dead children or children who have lost their parents.
“When you see dead children, it’s bad. It makes my eyes tear,” he said.
He remembers things he never thought he would experience. Recalling one such occasion, he said: “I don’t know how old the child was, the boy, maybe eight or nine, was perfectly fine. He had some shrapnel, some on him, but His mom and dad were dead and he was crying.”
his own daughter, ViolettaThe seven-year-old is in Germany with his wife Marina. “They have a wonderful family that has taken them in and all is well for them and I’m glad they are safe.”
On many days, he is too busy to think about or answer his wife’s calls. But he misses them.
“It all happens when you go after work and go to sleep,” he said. “I’d like to hug them. I’m used to telling my girl a story every night.”
Where they’re staying in Germany, they have an “amazing house” and a pool, he says. As they talk he tells Violet: “Just enjoy it and forget Papa while enjoying it. Just enjoy it and we’ll say, we’re still here, we’re still in touch, so everyone Something’s fine.”