Rescuers marched with fire extinguishers.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Quanchao
Volunteers laying water pipes.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhu Gaoxiang
On August 18, a rescue helicopter carried out fire fighting operations in Fuling, Chongqing. On August 17, fires broke out in the mountains and forests under the jurisdiction of Lizhi Street and Jiangbei Street in Fuling, Chongqing. The local area quickly organized forces to rush to the scene to fight the fire and evacuate the nearby residents in time.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Quanchao
In Xiema Street, Beibei District, Chongqing, volunteers ride motorcycles to deliver relief supplies.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Tang Yi
As of 8:30 on August 26, all the open fires at the junction of Beibei District and Bishan District of Chongqing City were put out after rescue efforts from all parties.
Thousands of flashlights flashed, and the long and narrow fire escape became an unforgettable memory for everyone.
What is unforgettable is the enthusiasm for helping to transport people and materials
Messages are still popping up in the 15 wildfire rescue volunteer groups. There are always people wanting to come to support. Motorcyclist Zhang Jun, who had just slept for two hours, received a call and repeated: “Now there are enough people, there is no need to come, thank you for your support.”
On the evening of August 21, a mountain fire broke out in Hutou Mountain, Xiema Street, Beibei District. A fire isolation zone had to be dug on the mountain. Generally, it was inconvenient for vehicles to pass through, and materials could only be transported by motorcycles.
“Brothers, the Beibei Mountain Fire requires a large number of motorcyclists to come to support!” After verifying from the fire brigade, Zhang Jun immediately posted a message on the social platform. Soon, the private messages were filled with news of volunteer registration, and the WeChat group continued to soar, one motorcyclist after another rushed to the front line.
At the reception point for social donations at the entrance of Xiaohu Road, Xiema Street, Zhang Jun loaded fire extinguishers, lunch boxes, water, rubber shoes, chainsaws and other supplies into the car, stepped on the accelerator, and rushed up the mountain.
Looking around, there are motorcycles all along the road. Couriers, takeaways, local villagers, men and women, all come to contribute.
Tan Yutao, a chef at a local Sichuan restaurant, is one of them. On the 21st, he saw the fire on the distant mountain in the store, so he rode a motorcycle and assisted in the rescue as needed. “I grew up here, and the place where I want to dig the isolation belt is my hometown. I can find my way with my eyes closed!” Tan Yutao said.
The temperature was over 40 degrees Celsius and under the scorching sun, the motorcyclists carried nearly 50 kilograms of supplies in their backpacks, repeating the 30-minute one-way steep mountain road. Sweat mixed with dust flowed down… More than 100 motorcycles could be seen flying at any time at the scene, and at most 2,000 volunteers were present at the same time.
Unforgettable is the performance of their respective duties, efficient collaboration
“On the 21st, my teammates and I put out the open fire in Hutou Mountain; on the 22nd, we put out sporadic fire spots along the road to prevent the mountain fire from spreading to nearby villages; on the 23rd, all the personnel were collectively transferred to the reservoir to control the fire; on the 24th, the Pumps and hoses go up the mountain, and isolation belts are set up…” Liu Jingqiang, 42, has been in the fire brigade for 20 years. These days, he and his teammates have been working at a temperature of nearly 50 degrees Celsius. The nearest time was only 10 meters away from the open flame. If the boots were broken, they would find a rope to tie them up. When they were tired, they would sleep on the floor.
Dong Changjiang, a 22-year-old firefighter, with a tanned youthful face, said, “When the fire was at its greatest, the fire hose behind me was blown out by the floating fire.”
Hurry up, hurry up. The preparatory work for the Bajiaochi forest fire barrier with a length of about 1.36 kilometers and an average width of 60-80 meters is in place one after another: 9 pools have been excavated along the line, equipped with mobile water sources and sprinklers, and water supply pipelines have been laid, and more than 1,000 tanks have been prepared. fire extinguisher…
Firefighter Wang Tian and his teammates put out the fire with a water gun while instructing the rescuers who came to cooperate to put out the falling sparks. The scene was noisy, and Wang Tian commanded with whistles and gestures: “To ensure the distance, form a human wall from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain. It must be ensured that not a single spark can cross the isolation zone.”
“We stayed at different points to help firefighters suppress the flames. To ensure safety, don’t let the sparks cross the isolation zone.” Yu Dongbing is a member of the emergency rescue team. When he sees sparks, he will put out the sparks with water guns or shovels. .
What is unforgettable is courage and strategy, “putting out fire with fire”
The fire-fighting helicopters are here, the firefighters are here, and the armed police officers and soldiers are here… The front-line headquarters of the fire situation organized and dispatched forest fire rescue forces such as Yunnan and Gansu, as well as two-level emergency rescue forces in the urban area of Chongqing to put into fire fighting and rescue.
“Ignition!” At 8:37 p.m. on the 25th, the headquarters gave an order, and forest firefighters ignited a dead tree halfway up the mountain. In an instant, a ball of fire rose into the air.
The main principle of “fire extinguishing” is to manually ignite the fire head (fire line) to connect with the forest fire burning in the opposite direction, so that the joint suddenly lacks oxygen and loses the combustion conditions. It is an effective measure to control large-area, high-energy forest fires.
Why choose the evening of the 25th? Wang Lei, deputy director of the Fire Fighting and Rescue Headquarters of the Yunnan Forest Fire Brigade and director of the Combat Training Department, told the story: “Thank you for the wind!” According to the weather forecast, the wind direction changed on the evening of the 25th, blowing from north to south. The headquarters made a decisive decision and decided to use the artificially excavated isolation belt to burn.
At about 22 o’clock, the two fires met, the flames soared into the sky, and a huge ball of light appeared on the top of the mountain, illuminating the faces of everyone present. At about 23:00, the open flame was effectively sealed and controlled. Within 3 hours, “putting out the fire with fire” blocked the fire head nearly 1 km away.
At 8:30 on August 26, all the open fires at the junction of Beibei District and Bishan District were put out. The urban two-level emergency rescue teams in Chongqing, the forest fire rescue teams in Yunnan and Gansu, thousands of volunteers and enthusiastic people… Countless glimmers of light have combined into an infinite force, and together they have built the Great Wall of Steel to protect their homes.
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The reporter recently learned from the Emergency Management Department that since August 9, there have been many forest fires in Beibei, Banan, Dazu, Changshou, Jiangjin and other places in Chongqing. As of 8:30 on the 26th, with the joint efforts of all parties, all open fires in the forest fire have been extinguished, and they have been fully transferred to the cleaning and guarding stage, with no casualties and loss of important facilities.
After the fire broke out, the National Forest Defense Office and the Emergency Management Department quickly launched a level IV emergency response, and immediately dispatched two working groups to Chongqing for command and guidance, and deployed more than 1,200 commanders and fighters from the Gansu Forest Fire Brigade’s front garrison detachment and the Chongqing Fire Rescue Brigade. In the early stage, the rescue operation was carried out, and 6 helicopters and more than 1,000 people from Yunnan and Sichuan forest firefighting teams were urgently dispatched across the province, and 2 batches of 16,634 pieces (sets) of materials and equipment were allocated to support the first-line firefighting, and the firefighting work was carried out effectively and orderly.
According to statistics, a total of more than 14,000 rescue forces at all levels and 10 helicopters have been invested in the forest fire fighting in Chongqing, and more than 1,800 people from more than 680 households have been transferred in time.
(Reporter Qiu Chaoyi of this newspaper)