Bond of Firefighters Offers Hope
Feb, 2005 by Robert Triozzi
The Fire Rescue Development Program is a non profit, international non governmental organisation comprised of firefighters from nine countries on four continents. It was created to assist firefighters in the developing world and in war torn countries by providing training, equipment and organisational assistance to restore a sense of dignity and pride. The FRDP is also the only fire rescue NGO recognised by the UN and is very involved in disaster impact reduction
ALMOST EVERY FIREFIGHTER WHO travels, whether in his own country or abroad, often visits a fire department and is usually met with a genuine welcome by the firefighters being visited. There is as much interest shown by the visiting firefighters as their hosts to hear how each others' department operates, the equipment and techniques utilised for certain jobs, as well as to discuss what problems and politics plague the rank and file.
This common interest in each otherfs operation may be because the work we do and the inherent risks faced are basically the same, independent of the city, country or continent we may find ourselves. We fight fires in residential, commercial and industrial occupancies; we perform rescues from complex vehicle accidents to people stuck in elevators; we handle hazardous materials incidents and mitigate large scale disasters such as floods and earthquakes. Another common denominator among firefighters everywhere is that we love the work we do.
This may also be part of what identifies us as a most unique group worldwide. This may be why the public knows that the Fire Service is the only entity it can count on in an emergency--even when conditions have forced all other government institutions to run for cover and even when the state and government no longer exist.
Examples of this level of dedication and service is most apparent in time of war. It was especially evident in Europe during the Second World War, but has been very much part of recent history as well--in Sarajevo and Belgrade and most recently in Baghdad. As those cities came under fire from aerial bombardment, mortars and artillery, what seemed to prevail was anarchy. Yet firefighters continued to respond to the needs of the people against all odds, even as bombs were falling around them, to limit the damage being hurled upon their cities and to rescue victims of the attacks.
Common Bond
Another characteristic of firefighters worldwide is the urgency to help without prejudice. While that may not cause much surprise to most, in many parts of the world that could mean putting one's life in danger merely for trying to help someone of a different ethnicity, race or religion. In Kosovo, Albanian and Serbian firefighters were attacked by mobs for working together in putting out fires.
In Kashmir, on the Pakistani-Indian border, Hindu firefighters were the object of hostility for wanting to put out a fire in Muslim homes and vica versa. Firefighters never question who the person in jeopardy might be. They know someone is in danger and that is sufficient--it is human life and they respond.
In many parts of the world firefighters must also face their everyday duties in most precarious conditions. They must fight fires in temperatures below zero without gloves or boots. They must respond to hazmat incidents without breathing apparatus. They must intervene with obsolete equipment for which there are no spare parts. Often they do not have any proper training or even a uniform identifying them as firefighters. They must do the same job we all do but without any proper means or support to do it.
An initiative has been undertaken to help these firefighters in these countries that are very poor and at times rife with disorder. It is the Fire Rescue Development Program, also known by the acronym FRDP.
The FRDP is a non profit, international non governmental organisation (NGO). It is comprised of firefighters from nine countries on four continents with headquarters in Rome, Italy and offices in Chicago, USA and Johannesburg, South Africa. The FRDP was created to assist firefighters in the developing world and in war torn countries. Help is provided through training, supplying equipment, reorganisation of fire services on a governmental level, administrative and managerial consultancy and to serve as a beacon of hope in providing firefighters with a sense of dignity and pride.
The FRDP is also the only fire rescue NGO recognised by the United Nations and FRDP members are the only firefighters in the world to serve as delegates to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Within the United Nations the FRDP is most active in areas related to promoting sustainable development for the fire services of poorer nations and is very involved in disaster impact reduction.
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is to provide assistance which will allow the local firefighters to grow and evolve and to implement programs which will continue long after international aid leaves town. In a nutshell, programs that help firefighters help themselves.
All too often those in the industrialised world that want to help take initiatives that neither reflect realities nor take into consideration what actual needs are or use the assistance as political propaganda. At times, the 'help' that is being offered is actually more to show the folks in the donor country that assistance is being given and good deeds are being carried out, rather than to provide feasible solutions that have a positive impact.
One example was the donation of 10 engines for the Kosovo Fire Service in 1999. The engines donated were 45 years old, ran on gasoline and spare parts did not exist anywhere. Another example was in Basra, Iraq in 2003. An international organisation wanted to help the firefighters there. The money they had available was used to paint the firehouse pink while firefighters had no protective gear--not even gloves.
The basic philosophy of the FRDP, which has proven successful in many parts of the world, include solutions that are low tech, simple, practical and above all, applicable Locally. The international makeup of the FRDP permits the organisation to handle a problem by utilising the experience of firefighters from many parts of the world and from many different cultures. What may seem perfectly normal in Boston, Milano or Tokyo may not necessarily work in Bujumbura, Managua or Tashkent.
UN Lobbying
The work of the FRDP in underdeveloped countries is to achieve goals that render firefighters efficient with the resources that are available to them that more or less function. By applying this philosophy, development that is sustainable is much easier to attain.
Firefighters will work with what is familiar to them and then be able to build on that within the context of their own culture. It is a process of evolution, not much different from the way the Fire Service in the more advanced countries evolved. It makes no sense to try and implement standards of the 21st century in a country where the technology is 50 or more years behind. It makes even less sense to try to replicate the London Fire Brigade or FDNY in a country where the average firefighter may not be able to read or write, where building codes do not exist and the Local government has no money for equipment, uniforms or even decent salaries. For these reasons the 'low tech' approach by the FRDP has been able to provide the proper solutions to many countries' fire services.
Disaster impact reduction is an area where the FRDP has been a voice for firefighters to governments around the world by its presence in the United Nations. When UN committees meet to discuss how the impacts of disasters can be reduced attention is given to areas involving the military, civil protection, specialised groups etc. It has been the FRDP that continues to press for governments to support their fire services in order to have a real impact on reducing the effects of calamities.
The FRDP has underlined the fact that no matter what the country and no matter what the emergency, it is the fire station that is closest to the event that will dispatch the personnel and equipment that will be first on the scene. This is as true for a car fire as it is for an earthquake. It is a fact that a grandiose, complex rescue operation much larger than the local fire service must be implemented to confront a large scale catastrophe. However, just the mobilisation of such an effort can take many hours and in some case days to organise while firefighters have been on the scene from the time the disaster struck.
Reducing Impact of Disasters
These notions will be presented in Kobe, Japan later this year by the Fire Rescue Development Programme at the United Nations World Conference on Reducing the Impact of Disasters. It will be the goal of the FRDP to bring a sense of awareness to governments who are serious about having an authentic response to stem the effects of calamity. To try to make them understand that their only real hope is in support of an effective, competent Fire Service first and foremost.
The Fire Rescue Equipment Exchange (FREE) project is another instrument utilised by FRDP in helping our less fortunate colleagues. The program allows used fire equipment to be donated to FRDP that will be given to firefighters that are in need and where it is compatible with what is already in place. The program relinquishes the donors of all responsibilities thereby avoiding any legal apprehensions that a potential donor may have.
As many firefighters around the world are running into burning buildings without any personal protection whatsoever, they would be extremely grateful for any piece of equipment that could make their job easier and their work a little safer. While the donated equipment may no longer meet standards and codes in many developed countries, it would be considered a godsend to many poor countries.
The Fire Rescue Development Program is continuously approached by governments and firefighters in some of the poorest countries in the world to assist them, to help them become more efficient in protecting their citizens. Unfortunately, the FRDP is not always in a position to respond. The experience is there. The know-how is there. The qualified personnel is there. What is lacking is the financial means to carry out these programs and at times even to meet the diplomatic obligations to the United Nations. The FRDP is a non-profit organisation. It can only survive through the generosity of others. It is the hope that it will be the firefighters who have the means that will show a sign of solidarity in helping other, much less fortunate firefighters by donating to the FRDP. Even small amounts go a tong way, but help is desperately needed to carry out this most necessary assistance. Donations can be made online at: www.frdp.org or by sending a check or money order in any currency to: Fire Rescue Development Program, C.P.35 Bracciano, Rome 00062 Italy.
For further information contact Chief Robert Triozzi at: triozzi@frdp.org
COPYRIGHT 2005 Fire Rescue Development Program, NGO
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