TIMELINE Prague firefighters in Hřensk. The North continues to burn, the firefighters are waiting for another week. Paramedics give them oxygen and IVs
photo: HZS Prague/The work of firefighters in the north of Bohemia is very demanding, as evidenced by the picture from the intervention in Hřensk.
Numerous hidden foci of an extensive forest fire in the National Park České Švýcarsko, firefighters from Prague are planning additional shifts in the north of Bohemia. Professional, but especially volunteer firemen from various parts of Prague, calculate that the work to extinguish the forest fire will last at least another week. This is also confirmed by other PrahaIN.cz information from the large-scale intervention in Hřensk. See together with PrahaIN.cz how the Prague firefighters help in the north of Bohemia.
“Due to many hidden outbreaks, forest fires in the České Švýcarsko National Park are not expected to be extinguished in the next few days. So we are planning the schedule of changing units for the next week as well,” fire brigade spokesman Daniel Fík told PrahaIN.cz at the weekend.
The Prague spokesman also helped
He temporarily took over the position from his colleague Martin Kavka, who as a press spokesman helped his colleagues from the Ústí choir in the north. “I’m just returning to Prague after a week, a colleague from the Hradec Králové region is taking over the baton,” confirmed Kavka when asked by the editors.
Firefighters eliminate hidden foci of a forest fire in the vicinity of Hřensk.
He also confirmed current information from Hřensk directly from the spot. “The outbreaks are already being extinguished, it’s nothing, but of course we need to continue to be here as much as possible so that the fire does not spread again,” he explained, adding that professional and volunteer firefighters from Prague and others will continue to take turns on site as part of the intervention regions. “So far it’s planned until Friday,” he confirmed to the editors.
No one solves the differences
“We are all part of an intervention here, the scale of which none of us have experienced. We are one group, no one here differentiates between where someone is from, or between professionals and volunteers,” he wrote for PrahaIN.cz about the atmosphere of the intervention.
According to him, the firemen are staying at various guesthouses in the area, and the accommodation and attitude of the locals cannot be praised enough. “However, it is demanding, the intervention takes place non-stop, therefore we de facto try to rotate our people so that they are here for a maximum of four days in a row,” confirmed Kavka for the Prague choir.
The Prague gang sticks together, the differences between firefighters from different regions, even between professional firefighters and their volunteer colleagues, but no one solves them.
According to PrahaIN.cz, units of the Volunteer Fire Brigade from Zbraslav, Chlupic and Radotín are currently on the scene. “In total, SDH units are 15 firefighters and 5 pieces of equipment. 42 professional firefighters from Prague are also on the scene, and another 4 members are assigned to the response commander’s staff,” Fík confirmed, adding that the professional firefighters are being replaced continuously.
As time went…
Due to the huge scale of the intervention of the firefighters, especially shortly after the forest fire, the first units from Prague went to help their colleagues from the Ústí fire department shortly after noon on July 26. They were professionals from the Holešovice and Modřany fire stations. “The equipment included in this detachment consisted of a large-capacity SOMATI pump with 2,000 meters of SOMATI hoses, an emergency survival container and a command car,” Kateřina Suchánská described earlier in the press statement of the HZS Prague.
The second wave of reinforcements leaves early in the morning of July 27 from the Prague fire station in Holešovice.
According to information from PrahaIN.cz, the second detachment left from Holešovice station the very next day in the early hours of the morning. It consisted of four tanks and one command car. “Prague firefighters will attend to the fire immediately upon arrival until liquidation in the section of Mezná and Mlýnská cesta. Their task was to search for and extinguish hidden foci. At that time, there were also two liaison officers who were in charge of the crews of the Italian and later the Swedish planes,” the spokeswoman explained, adding that the foreign special aviation pilots were accommodated in Prague.
Firefighter aircraft crews from Italy (pictured) as well as rotating colleagues from Sweden lived in Prague.
Additional reinforcements from Prague went to the scene on July 30, when, in addition to professionals from HZS Prague, the first volunteer firefighters from Prague units, specifically from SDH Chodov and SDH Kolovrata, went north. In total, there were nine firefighters, two tankers and a transport vehicle. At this time, the command of the fire department also asked the Prague fire brigade to supply more hoses, and the Prague department sent two kilometers each in B and C diameters to the site.
The Prague Corps also took hoses to the north, which were in short supply due to the extent of the forest fire.
“Another part of professional and volunteer firefighters was sent to Hřensk on August 1 and supplemented our pumping and firefighting squad, helping the staff and ensuring the deployment of firefighting aircraft. The team of spokesmen in Hřensk was also supplemented by Prague press spokesman Martin Kavka, and the units on the spot were reinforced by another tanker. On this day, it was also ensured that volunteer firefighters from the Chodov and Kolovrata units of the SDH were replaced by firefighters from the Letňany and Suchdol fire stations, who arrived at the scene with two tankers and a transport vehicle,” said Suchánská.
Packed up. This is how it happened at one of the Prague fire stations shortly before leaving for the north.
Additional reinforcements were secured from the SDH Stodůlky unit, which sent a tanker and volunteer firefighters from Suchdol with a transport vehicle to the scene. In total, 15 volunteer firefighters and 5 pieces of equipment were deployed in the north on August 1, and another 49 firefighters and 18 pieces of equipment were deployed for the professional corps. On Tuesday, August 2, the location of the fire in České Švýcarsko National Park was announced, and another rotation of firefighters was planned. On Wednesday, August 3, units of SDH Stodůlky with a tank, SDH Kunratice with a tank and a transport vehicle, SDH Lysolaje with a tank and SDH Nebušice with a transport vehicle intervened on the spot.
Volunteers also help in Prague
And while the whole rotation continues, during the intervention of Hřensk’s professional tankers, the Prague stations are reinforced by other Prague SDHs, which are kept on 24-hour standby. Specifically, units from Letňany, Řep, Březiněvsi, Ďáblic and Satalice have taken turns at the stations.
Golem, oxygen and infusion
In addition to firefighters, Prague rescuers also participate in the intervention. A special module for large-scale Golem hits and an all-terrain ATV were sent to Hřensk. “This technique still serves as technical support and background for the responding firefighters,” Jana Poštová, spokeswoman for the Prague rescue service, confirmed to PrahaIN.cz.
The Golem emergency vehicle of the Prague rescue service helps the firefighters in Hřensk. Photo: ZZSUK
According to her, in addition to the Golem crew, other rescuers also take turns at the scene. “Firefighters can rest with us, we of course also provide treatment in case of injury, as well as infusions and oxygen therapy,” she clarified when asked by the editors. According to her, support from medical professionals is very much needed on the spot, because the work of firefighters in science and demanding intervention conditions is “at the limit of possibilities”. In addition to this support, the rescuers on site also ensure the collection of biological material in connection with the disease covid 19, which, according to information from PrahaIN.cz, mainly concerns the staff of the intervention commander.