real heroes behind the forest fires

Those of us who are animal lovers know and understand that it is up to us to care for and protect the health of nature. Just as we take care every day of our animals, cats, dogs or birds... Which are the most common animals in our homes. We can also collaborate in the global protection of the animal family and their natural habitat, through parks, shelters for homeless animals and other natural spaces, where animals and plants cohabit and protect each other. A clear example is how bees pollinate plants. Raising awareness among people all over the world is a strenuous job, and even more so if, in order to get the message across, we have to make an extraordinary effort. That is why we must unite and use different means to get the message across about the importance of safeguarding the different species of animals, vegetation and nature in general.

Today we will talk about forest fires and how they directly affect everyone equally.

All damage caused to nature harms us all but especially the natural ecosystem where it is triggered, every forest fire generates damage especially as the fire spreads uncontrollably destroying everything in its path, whether all kinds of trees, shrubs, bushes or grasses, causing the complete erosion of soils, disappearance of the topsoil and watercourses, not to mention all species of animals including birds, reptiles, mammals and others that live there.

Now to understand how these fires become so big and deadly, we must know that this is due to the high amount of flammable materials that accumulate, they are fires that spread very easily. These fires are also called by people as virulent, since there is a large amount of leaves and wood, the fire spreads easily, which makes it difficult to be able to respond quickly to such fires is the lack of resources by the competent authorities, the other obstacle is that most of these fires are in areas that are not urbanized and this increases the difficulty to be addressed.

"In my country, Venezuela, it is common to see how natural areas are consumed by fire without being attended, because of the above mentioned, the lack of resources is the most important thing, without forgetting the lack of community that exists to attend this type of situations."

¿How do they occur?

We can find two causes of how forest fires are produced, on the one hand there is the natural cause: they are those produced by an electrical storm through lightning or high temperatures, "they are unusual". The second cause is the most probable and is caused by human beings, known as "imprudence" of some people by making bonfires or throwing a cigarette butt. Others also by deliberate actions (action of arsonists or economic interests behind the fire.

We must also take into account the season in which most fires occur, usually the driest season of the year when temperatures are the highest and the forests are driest (summer).

Many people are completely unaware that a forest fire can be started in many different ways, whether it is a cigarette butt, a campfire, a piece of paper lit on fire, when the soil is very dry and covered with dry leaves and trees without leaves, all combined with a high temperature, is the perfect combination for an environmental catastrophe, and it happens every year.

¿How to prevent forest fires?

People who normally go to the forest should have a good orientation before going, or at least have prior knowledge about the causes of forest fires, as well as be aware of the crimes they are committing if they do so. As redundant as this may seem, nowadays there are people who are in charge of providing all this information to all the people who go to the forest.

Park Ranger

"They are people who are in charge of enforcing the rules in the forest and natural environments, to avoid causing recklessness and that all those who attend know what are the rules to follow, if they want to spend a different day in nature, as well as to educate people that the most important thing is to avoid having a direct connection with the animals that live there. Avoid direct contact with the animals that live there, for the protection of the people rather than the animals themselves. Also, these people are aware of the dangers that live there and for that reason they try to avoid any misfortune with the people who go there".

Some of the things that are mentioned at the moment of instructing people are the different ways in which they can foresee a situation that puts the ecosystem at risk, for example;

• Avoid making bonfires or barbecues in natural environments.

• Avoid throwing cigarette butts.

• Avoid throwing bottles or glass that could cause a magnifying glass effect in the forest.

On the other hand, it is also essential that forest maintenance teams carry out their work correctly. It is very important not only to monitor possible outbreaks of fire, but also to carry out preventive forestry work. Indeed, abundant vegetation can facilitate the spread of forest fires. It is therefore very important that these teams carry out work to remove dry vegetation during the summer, freeing forest soils from low brush that ignites easily.

In this way, the fundamental aspect of forest fire prevention involves raising awareness and educating the population. In this way, society as a whole will contribute to their protection, which will make it easier to avoid risk situations in most cases.

Every year, many firefighters lose their lives trying to extinguish the flames in natural ecosystems. I once met a firefighter who, in many of his experiences, commented on how difficult it is to extinguish this type of fire, especially because the natural places where they occur are highly flammable, causing them to burn quickly and destroy everything in their path.

In the same conversation, this person commented on the fear they feel when living an experience like this, as they do not know if they will be able to come out of the situation safe and sound, or if they will perish in the attempt.

They know how difficult it is to cover emergencies like this, they know the risk involved, so every time they go to extinguish a forest fire, the first thing they must do is concentrate, there is no margin for error, because every action counts and every loss of energy too.

¿What are your biggest challenges as a firefighter?

One of the biggest challenges is to get to the scene of an incident in time, to be able to help people and animals and to stop the fire from causing further damage.    As a leader, it is also a challenge for me to motivate and teach my colleagues and other people who are interested in being part of our team.

¿Companionship among firefighters?

To be able to count on colleagues who you know are there with the same objective, to safeguard the lives of all those involved, to be able to recover all the land that can be saved, to face the existing dangers together and to always stay together even in moments of anxiety, that is what companionship is all about, the unity of everyone and taking care of each other.

In my unit there is brotherhood more than just people who are there to save lives, there are brothers risking their lives for the welfare of all, choosing to be a firefighter was the most significant choice in my life, to be able to lead a group of men who know the risk they run every day and still remain is of total importance to me, it's not just a matter of being a firefighter.

Apart from trying to extinguish the suffocating flames of the forest fires, they also do the job of tracking and relocating animals in danger of being trapped by the raging fire. For Fraiyan, a firefighter from my hometown, there is nothing more comforting than being able to save lives, whether they are animals or people, for him to be able to help others who are at risk is the most wonderful thing, to feel that he is doing a job for someone else no matter what, that without a doubt fills him with life.

"Nature is the greatest thing that the world has given us, in it we can find the greatest biodiversity of life, it is incredible that it is in our hands to help it to remain healthy and safe, so every day I go out wanting to contribute and help others, to save a forest, to take care of an animal, to save lives, is the hardest job in the world" for Fraiyan is the most rewarding experience of his work, saving lives.

In every society we can find different ways of thinking but, when we talk about nature, we are referring to something big, in general terms we are talking about everything that concerns nature, so, it is a difficult job to be able to take care of something so big, that is why we must help together, raise awareness, transmit information, among friends and colleagues, family and acquaintances.

The most important thing of all is to be able to get the message across, to avoid a fire, any fire is a grain of sand that it is up to all of us to do our part.

Have a great day, until another opportunity.