Serbian firefighters, rescuers, and members of the Helicopter Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia are currently in Spain, where they are actively participating in extinguishing the catastrophic forest fires that have hit the autonomous community of Castile and León. Assistant Head of the Department for Fire and Rescue Units, Davor Vidović, told Euronews Serbia that Spanish colleagues say this is one of the hardest years to hit this region. He stated that Serbian firefighters were on duty all night in the open field.
The Serbian fire and rescue team successfully helped localize a large fire in the region of Castile and León, after which, by decision of the operational headquarters, it was relocated to the area of Ponferrada, where together with Spanish, German, and other international teams it continues its engagement in extinguishing the remaining hotspots and protecting endangered areas.
“We are currently located in the territory of the town of Ponferrada, which is in the province of León. We changed our location yesterday during the day, from Fermoselle, which is in the Castile and León region, we moved to Ponferrada. The entire team moved, while the helicopter unit continues to work at the locations that have been active so far. During the night, we were on duty here in the open field. The temperature here is very high, a huge area has burned down. We are fighting to keep the citizens of Spain safe from the fiery element,” Vidović told Euronews Serbia.
He said that the team from Serbia that went to Spain consists of 41 members of the Sector for Emergency Management, with 19 vehicles, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ helicopter unit with one Super Puma aircraft and five crew members.
“We are physically separated, but simply, when you work with other international teams that practically have very similar habits to ours, there are no functioning problems regardless of who you work with,” he said.
Trust, knowledge, and togetherness
Vidović emphasized that the situation on the ground is constantly changing, but that members of the Sector for Emergency Management are ready to respond to every new task.
“When one fire is brought under control, we are already on our way to the next. That is the rhythm of this mission. The most important thing is that, together with colleagues from other countries, we are where help is needed most and that we give our maximum in protecting people’s lives, their homes, and nature,” Vidović said, as reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on its Instagram account.
He stressed that international missions best show how important trust, knowledge, and togetherness are in the fight against natural disasters.
“On the ground, there is no difference between uniforms. We all have the same task and the same goal. Our firefighter-rescuers and the crew of the ‘Super Puma’ helicopter represent the Republic of Serbia worthily with their knowledge, discipline, and self-sacrifice. That is the image of our country that we want the world to see – that we are a reliable partner and that we stand by our friends when it is toughest,” Vidović added.
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Source: Euronews; Photo: Printscreen Instagram