China News Service, Beijing, August 13 (Wei Xianghui) Xinjiang Altay is known as the "Golden Mountain and Silver Water".

This year marks the 20th year of the establishment of the Altay Detachment of the Xinjiang Forest Fire Brigade, which guards the ecological safety barrier in northern Xinjiang.

From June to October every year, they will go deep into the key forest areas of fire danger to perform front-end garrison tasks and successfully put out many forest and grassland fires.

But when they took off their fire suits and returned home, they were also ordinary husbands and fathers.

Xinjiang Forest Fire Brigade Altay Detachment Baihaba Garrison Unit on duty in the forest area photo by Wang Henghui of Altay Forest Fire Brigade

Trained soldiers in hot summer

　　Putting on airtight fire-fighting and rescue clothes, carrying 20 pounds of fire-fighting equipment on his back, and putting on heavy rescue boots, Zou Wenqiang's forehead has begun to drip fine sweat before he finished wearing all the equipment.

　　He is the squad leader of the No. 4 Squadron of the Forest Fire Detachment in the Altay Region. As a 9-year veteran of the team, he has already experienced this familiar movement process thousands of times.

Machine operation, log cutting, fire bomb throwing... When I took off the helmet to breathe, I was already sweating profusely, and sweat poured out of the rescue boots.

　　In June of this year, when the ultraviolet rays were the strongest in the Altay region of Xinjiang, the "Guard Jinshan 2022" field training and the "Flame Blue" competition of the Forest Fire Brigade in the Altay region kicked off.

The whole content of the competition covers 26 items of 14 subjects in three major modules: fire fighting, comprehensive rescue and physical fitness, all of which are necessary for actual combat, quality and job training.

　　Preparing for a competition is a painful and long journey.

In the early morning, the first ray of sunlight shone on the training ground, and the screams of the sky sounded. The contestants were training. Bean-sized sweat dripped from the tanned faces of the players.

At night, after the lights out, the corridors of the bedroom sounded one after another snoring.

They don't talk about "tired", but the speed of falling asleep and the heavy snoring say it all.

　　"The summer temperature in Xinjiang is high, which can better simulate the environment and state of the fire field." In the view of Wang Jing, captain of the Fourth Squadron of the Forest Fire Detachment in the Altay Area, training elite soldiers in the hot summer, "Summer training" has no purpose, "Actually Training is the best when the weather is hot, and people’s physical condition and function are the best in summer. These items have certain dangers in rescue, so it is necessary to train when the physical condition is the best, which is also the easiest to achieve. time to improve."

The contestants are competing in a comprehensive physical fitness competition. Photo by Zhang Hao of the Altay Forest Fire Detachment

Fighting the fire head-on

　　"Preparing for the competition is to stand the test of actual combat", Bai Licheng, the third-level fire chief of the Second Squadron of the Altay Brigade of the Xinjiang Forest Fire Brigade, has a deep understanding of this sentence.

　　The Altay Forest Fire Detachment was established on November 18, 2002, and is responsible for comprehensive emergency rescue tasks such as forest and grassland fire fighting, emergency rescue, and special disaster rescue.

　　During training, other teammates did 15 single parallel bars, and Bai Licheng insisted on doing 20. If he didn't run well in the five-kilometer training, he ran another one by himself.

During the preparation for the competition, more than 10 obvious calluses on his hands are the testimony of the solid training of this post-85 firefighter.

When danger comes, these are also the skill guarantees that he dares to fight the fire demon in front of him.

　　In October 2018, a fire broke out in a wooden house on the third floor of the station, and Bai Licheng's squadron went to dispose of it after receiving the police.

Due to the storage of two gas tanks in the fire room that were not transported in time, the situation is very critical.

The fire was raging, and it always affected the hearts of everyone present. However, due to the lack of professional equipment, it was very dangerous for the team members to enter the room to put out the fire.

At this moment, Bai Licheng had an idea and asked the team members to smash the glass of the room's windows and then beat them with a high-pressure water pump, but he broke into the room alone and moved the trachea out, successfully defuse the danger.

　　In the 18 years since he joined the team at the age of 18, Bai Licheng has won three personal third-class merits, one third-class talent award for the armed police force, and eight awards. He was commended by the original armed police Xinjiang Forest Corps as a new generation of revolutionary soldiers. The advanced model was commended by the Forest Fire Bureau as the advanced model of the 7th "Beautiful Look Around Us", and won many honors such as the 5th National 119 Advanced Individual in Fire Protection, the annual "Safeguard Guard" of the Central Political and Legal Committee, and the Outstanding Communist Party Member of the Corps.

National 119 advanced individuals Bai Licheng.

Photo by Zhang Hao of Altay Forest Fire Brigade

Daily prevention is not "burned"

　　It is better to have no fire for a thousand days than to be unprotected for one day.

The Altay region is located in the northern part of Xinjiang, with complex and diverse landforms. There are Kanas, which is known as "Fairyland on Earth and Garden of God", and Hemu, which is "photographer's paradise".

The Altai Mountain Forest Area is one of the six major forest areas in the country, with extremely rich forest resources.

　　Forest fires are called the destroyers of nature.

Since its establishment, every year from July 10th to October 10th, the mountains are covered by heavy snow, and the Altay Forest Fire Brigade will send commanders and fighters to Kanas to perform front-end garrison tasks.

　　Due to the dry and hot summer, it is very easy for herdsmen and tourists to enter the mountains and forests to cause forest fires. In particular, the forest fire prevention situation is extremely severe this year, which will continue to be at a historically high level to a large extent. Forest fire prevention work is extremely important.

　　Diao Wei, Squadron Leader of the Third Squadron of the Altay Detachment of Xinjiang Forest Fire Brigade, introduced that due to the living habits of local herdsmen, they are often seen lighting fires for picnics in the forest area, and the team members will immediately come forward to stop them.

"The herdsmen are compatriots from ethnic minorities. They do not understand the language, so it is very difficult to communicate, and sometimes there are some small misunderstandings." He said that most compatriots from ethnic groups will express their understanding and cooperation, and the skills of communication and handling of ethnic relations are all the team members. pressure to bear.

　　In view of the increasing number of tourists in the scenic area and the difficulty of fire control during the festival, the Altay Forest Fire Brigade invested more patrol force to increase the patrol area, and at the same time increased fire prevention propaganda.

The team members often use the rest time to form a "popular science team", and distribute fire prevention leaflets in the scenic area to popularize forest fire prevention knowledge and relevant laws and regulations for tourists, and eliminate fire hazards from the source.

During the festival, the "Science Science Backpack Squad" went deep into the scenic spot to carry out fire prevention duties. Photo by Zhang Hao of the Altay Forest Fire Detachment

Small family guards thousands of families

　　In the eyes of outsiders, it may be happiness to be on duty in the scenic spot, accompanied by beautiful scenery every day, and breathe fresh air every day.

But for the forest firefighters who have been stationed here all the year round, there are many unspoken hardships and thoughts behind them.

　　October 1, 2019 is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Baihaba Garrison Unit of the Altay Detachment of the Xinjiang Forest Fire Brigade, as a professional forest fire fighting force stationed in the scenic spot, has been in combat readiness since September 20.

　　The team members at the fire protection duty point start duty at 8:00 in the morning and can only return to the garrison at 9:00 in the evening. In Kanas, which is more than 1,500 meters above sea level, they are on duty for more than 10 hours a day.

In order to be able to carry supplies and rescue in time, the garrison team must also patrol the forest area on horseback.

The roads in the forest area are very complicated, and accidents will happen if you are not careful.

Riding for a long time also consumes physical strength. After a day of patrolling, the body pain of the team members even exceeds the usual high-intensity training.

　　However, these even make them feel insignificant compared to the guilt faced by their family members.

　　Song Wentao, then the captain, remembered that he was on duty during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year. His wife took his daughter to the garrison by bus for eight hours without saying hello.

That year, his daughter was nine years old, but the father and daughter had never been together on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"I especially hoped to be able to spend time with them, but I was afraid of affecting the team's actions during the preparation period, so I gave up the idea." He regretted that he had not fulfilled his responsibilities as a lover and father.

　　This may be the voice of many old firefighters, but their missions and responsibilities also give them a different understanding of family reunion.

Firefighters pass the customs during the people's festival, and one family does not make a million yuan.

Song Wentao said: "We all know that a country has a family, and a country has thousands of families." (End)