Tireless in the rescue work, firefighters who work in the tragedy of Petrópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, tell what they have been living since last Tuesday (15), when a strong storm left at least 152 dead, almost 200 missing. and hundreds of homeless and displaced people in the city.
The Military Fire Brigade of Rio de Janeiro works around the clock, 24 hours a day, in search and rescue operations for victims. One of the soldiers said that, despite being trained for extreme occasions, the tragedy in Petrópolis took on unthinkable dimensions.
“We are trained to act in catastrophes, but not to act at the end of a city. We have courses, we prepare ourselves, but when we talk about a destroyed city, everyone acts the way they can, on the limit”, he said.
The firefighter participated in the rescue of five bodies, one of them, that of a 1-year-old girl, in addition to an elderly woman and three other adults. According to him, who preferred not to have his name disclosed, no fire station in Brazil has enough equipment to act in a tragedy of this magnitude.
There is no firefighter in Brazil with enough equipment for this here, there is no way. We’re not talking about a building, a mall. We’re talking about a city that has collapsed. Let’s say that 5,000 men are involved in the rescue, we don’t have manual material for everyone, even if machinery help comes. We’re talking hoe, man.
Internal documents from the Rio de Janeiro Fire Department reveal a lack of basic items, essential for the search for the missing.
On February 17, the Fire Department’s general director of logistical support requested the purchase of rescue equipment, such as rescue helmets, flashlights and whistles. In all, there are 20 items that were not found in the General Warehouse, according to documents obtained by CNN.
The soldier spoke to the CNN during a break during the rescue work, and explained that manual rescue takes on average up to eight hours. With the help of a backhoe, the average time is one hour. The number of hours shows the stress experienced by professionals with each search for a missing person.
“The service has to be done as meticulously as possible, so that it does not harm the condition of a possible body found, not to mention respect for the families of victims who usually accompany the rescue at all times with us”.
The firefighter also played a role in the 2011 tragedy, which left more than 900 dead and about 100 missing in the mountainous region, especially in the city of Friburgo. At the time, the impact was due to the extent of the tragedy, since several municipalities were affected, but, according to him, the situation in Petrópolis is worse.
“Reconstruction will be very difficult. There were many families buried and others who do not even know where to look for their loved ones or acquaintances who are missing. The disaster is concentrated in a single city,” he reported.
Another 30 machines arrived in Petrópolis to be used in cleaning, scraping, removal of rubbish, rubbish, furniture, unclogging culverts, in addition to washing the roads. The task force set up by the State Government has already removed more than 15,000 tons of waste and cleared more than half of the blocked roads.
The work takes place in parallel with the search and rescue actions of the Fire Department. The operation already had more than 200 pieces of equipment and the participation of 600 employees who remain in different parts of the city.
Source: CNN Brasil
