Volunteers are ready to leave from the 19 Cnsas stations. Barattin: “Chosen from those who know how to move well in the area”
BELLUNO. The 500 volunteers of the Belluno Alpine Rescue are preparing to face a crowded August 15th, making themselves available to the community as they do every other day of the year, setting aside their lives and even their work for a few hours.
The approximately 500 technicians active in the Belluno area are all volunteers and are organized in 19 stations (two in the pre-Alpine area and the others in the upper part of the province).
“Each station offers three telephone numbers to ensure availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week all year round”, explains Alex Barattin, Cnsas provincial delegate, “this allows us to intervene almost immediately as soon as it is collected reporting “.
KNOWLEDGE OF THE TERRITORY
But who are these men? In almost all cases, to enter the Alpine Rescue it is necessary to be born and raised in the area in which you are going to intervene, a sine qua non to be able to provide help while minimizing the risks: “What characterizes our volunteers is the knowledge of the territory and this is only available if you have experienced the mountains, valleys and paths on which you will then find yourself serving “, underlines Barattin,” if a rescuer, even a very good one, arrives from another part of Italy will certainly find itself in difficulty to operate in the Dolomites and put itself and others at greater risk. This is why we need local volunteers ».
Precisely this specificity in the requirements makes it particularly difficult to find new recruits, even if, apart from some peripheral areas, the entire Belluno area is well covered and the generational change does not arouse particular thoughts.
«As regards our delegation, we can say we are happy, because we have a good number of young people», says Barattin, «this great request that comes to us makes us particularly proud, even if it is difficult to find all the skills required in the candidates. We need people who know how to move safely on all types of terrain, such as woods, rocks, snow, ice. Instead today we often find aspiring technicians who are very good at climbing, but who may not know how to ski well enough and this forces us to bring them back after a few years, so that in the meantime they can acquire the right skills ».
This is where the CAI and the mountain guides come into play with their specific training courses: “We do not place ourselves before them in training”, underlines the head of the delegation, “because our courses are exclusively about organized rescue”.
WORK AND SACRIFICES
To date, these people make their skills available on a voluntary basis while maintaining their occupations. An almost paradoxical situation when you think about it, which is totally based on agreements made with employers and on total dedication to the service: “If a station is called upon for an emergency, immediately activate the staff it needs, even asking for a loan to others if necessary and this implies that volunteers may have to leave their jobs to join their team, ”continues Barattin. «Employers are aware of this eventuality and I always want to thank them for their understanding and availability, just as I can only thank the technicians who make themselves available at any time of day or night for others. Let us not forget that behind 500 volunteers there are as many families and private lives that must necessarily be put in the background when the call arrives ».
EYE TO TECHNOLOGY
With August 15th and the last month of summer just around the corner, some recommendations cannot be missing for those who decide to fight the heat by climbing to high altitude.
Simple advice, which can avoid problems and sorrows for hikers and also for the rescuers themselves.
“We record more and more problems related to the wrong use of new technologies, because people often rely too much on these tools and forget where they are”, explains Barattin, “I am thinking of e-bikes, which are very heavy and difficult to maneuver. on a path if you are not prepared, this is why we ask the rentals to explain well to people how to use them before handing them over ».