THE FIREMAN HERO OF TRÊS RIOS (RJ)

THE FIREMAN HERO OF TRÊS RIOS (RJ)

It was seven o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, July 2, 2008. Young Ricardo Monteiro, a good man from Minas Gerais, residing in the city of Belo Horizonte, was returning from the southeastern region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, where the municipality of São Paulo is located. José do Vale do Rio Preto, twenty-five years old, single, white-skinned and wearing very sporty clothes, drove his brand-name car into the city of Três Rios (RJ). Being a promising city of the empire marked by the Portuguese crown, and renowned for the great farmer Antônio Barroso Pereira, known as the patriarch of Sesmarias and founder of relegated cultural values of that appropriate municipality. It should be noted that D. Pedro II, emperor emeritus consecrated him as Baron of Entre-Rios. And because of this jubilee, there was born the small bus station that bears his name - Entre - Rios Station, sprouting with the progress of that time, forming a large warehouse on the banks of this road, culminating with the name Entre - Rios.

It is known that the influence of the empire's magnitude in its instance raised the rails and projections of trade with the Estrada de Ferro D. Pedro II, pioneering the first signs of growth, where the Baron did not watch the advance of the railway network, embedded in the smoke from the development machine, and moreover, one could count on the highway and railroad, in the formalization between the rivers that bathe the city, emerging improvements in the various sectors.

It didn't take long, and in that toponymic municipality Entre - Rios, one of the battles between different bodies fought with the proposition of maintaining its original name at any price, since for reasons of others and unknown under the heavy mantle of existing the same name in other municipalities Brazilians, hence, won the strong connotation with maximum brevity Between - Rios to Três Rios, watching in addition to the arbitrary under strong influence of the most important rivers that cut in their beds, the river Piabinha, Paraibuna and the river Paraíba do Sul. Thus, he built the city of Três Rios located in the Center-South region of the State of Rio de Janeiro with a reasonable economic background in industry and commerce with several strong comparisons in maintaining the link with handicrafts in ceramics, paintings, embroidery and sculptures, in addition to mineral wealth.

Thus, Três Rios, having several means of communication, has several radios, among them, Rádio AM Três Rios, still has a Landing Field on the Island of Capri that provides a good takeoff and landing for small devices, there is also a robust and established symbol in the center of the city, the Monument of the inauguration of a branch of the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil, located in the Patio of the Station itself. There is also the huge monument of Zumbi dos Palmares, in the Mortada do Sol neighborhood, also mentioning the Casa de Pedra, mentioned as the Entre – Rios charging station, and which currently operates the Casa de Ciência on Rua Barão de Entre - Rios, in addition to of so many others who adorn and enliven the culture of those people who are friendly and hospitable.

In this passage, Três Rios is a potential city with horizons that design the arts such as the Casa da Cultura in Praça São Sebastião, the Celso Peçanha Theater with prepositions of broad architectural lines on the two floors that close the majestic set and compatible with what more can be provided with the characteristics of the Grupo de Amateur Teatrais Viriato Corrêa – GATVC, not to mention the mastery of the music of the Grêmio Musical 1º de Maio, in the center, and the Municipal Choir with the assertive voices in the elements of joy.

We can travel and enjoy what Três Rios actually has in terms of beauty and grace with three libraries, Samba Schools, Carnival blocks, Churches, Chapels and many other cultural attractions in the interaction of the world of those who visit. Now, leaving for the municipal government, the personality of Celso Alencar Ramos Jacob stands out, a Trirriense with the most beautiful qualities, tracing to his people the best development reserves, adding the most intense projects in instances of good management with guidelines aimed at the community and the government.

It is in this prominent city, leaving the urban area, a young man wearing green shorts and a shirt printed in various colors, holds a backpack, when he sees the vehicle entering the highway, he waves asking for a ride, minutes in which Ricardo Monteiro maneuvers on the right attending to the unknown. The boy thanks you, and then asks:

-Aren't you from these parts?

-Not. I'm from Minas Gerais. And where are you going?

-I'm going to spend my holidays at my father's house in Betim. Do you have any headache medicine?

-Yes, please take the glove box.

Relieving the pain after taking the medicine, the boy remains silent while Ricardo continues his journey. Without delay, Ricardo observes a black smoke on the horizon and rushes, stepping firmly on the clutch, then parks on the side of the road and says to the passenger.

Dissatisfied with the boy, he insists on asking several people, not finding a satisfactory answer, when he asks the baby's mother.

- Madam, please! Did you see a young man in a gray shirt and a red cap around here?

The mother of the newborn responds:

-Look, it's difficult in the midst of all this confusion, I lost everything but my son, but I remember seeing a man in a red cap entering the back of the house. Nor can I guarantee that he is the person you are looking for. Look, I'm getting out of here because of the smoke.

The young man checks again.

-You can't tell me if he went into the fire to save someone?

-No boy. If this is the boy you're looking for, he's probably gone by now. Are you his relative?

-Not. It's just that I was waiting for his return in the car while I came here to see this fire, and until now he hasn't returned. That's why I'm worried about what might have happened to him.

-Look! It's good you go around a few more times and ask the neighbors, because here it's crowded with people and impossible to see.

With no answers, the young man goes looking.

Meanwhile, Ricardo had one of his legs trapped between the disassembles that fell on his legs, without strength and very weak, he still manages to breathe in the smoke, slowly removing from his pocket an insignia with a coat of fire with the following motto: ALIENAN VITAM ET BONA SALVARE – that is to say, to save the life and property of others. Then, breathing fails, and in the midst of the excessive flames, and with his legs trapped in the dismount, he sighs in the dwindling rhythm of existence holding in his right hand the medal of a soldier of fire, elevating in the aspirations of having faithfully fulfilled the mission sparked between the thorns that climb the stem of a rosebush. The sign of this man's preservation in saving lives, raises the mantle of all firefighters, the disproportion in carrying out the missions that only firefighters crucify daily and at any time.

Right there, the fire roared around him, returning in the red and yellow flames of which the SOLDIER OF FIRE – RICARDO MONTEIRO was the holder of the most arduous missions to save life. Not even the flames were able to reach the body of the soldier hero of Minas Gerais, who was holding the medal in his right hand, and in that particularity, his mouth opened in a wide and transparent smile, flooding the perverse sea of oscillating vibration. It was possible to examine in detail that the fire feared the cadet, the soldier and the warrior, beating vehemently on the sides in strong flames, without disillusionment, imputing in the shadows the respect for the peaceful lying on the remains of wood without touching it even a single inch. fire tongue.

Further on, Mrs. Marilu approaches the baby's mother and says:

-Ah comadre, tell me how it was. They told me they threw the baby over the flames on a duvet.

-Yes, and it was a miracle from God that my son's life was not affected.

Wanting to know details, Marilu asks.

-And who did this heroic act, comadre?

-I don't know, it must have been God. For it is impossible for anyone to enter there, yet I don't know how it all happened, and at the time I was in the house next door.

- Bedpan! Sebastião found a wallet with various documents inside the duvet. And we already know it's from a strange person.

Surprise, says the baby's mother.

-And even? And whose documents will these be?

-I don't know. Maybe it's from the baby's savior.

The rushed lady invites Marilu.

-Come on! I want to see it, and who knows, maybe it's not the friend of the boy I wasn't looking for yet.

They left to meet Sebastião, who lived in the area, immediately handing over the documents to the baby's mother, as she opened the door.

-See comadre Marilu, the man is a firefighter for the Minas Gerais Corporation, here is his identity. And he has a card that tells everything: First Military Fire Battalion of Minas Gerais, Command – General – Rua Piauí, nº. 1815 – Bairro Employees – Phone General: (31) 3289.8001 – CEP 30150-321 – Belo Horizonte - MG. There's still more, Commander – Lieutenant – Colonel Edson Hilário da Silva and Deputy Commander – Major Clóvis Ferreira Lima.

-O my God! So call there and let them know.

-Calm. We already called everything that is the Fire Department. Take it easy.

At that moment, João Ferraz approaches and says:

-I already called the number 193 at the start of the fire, and they should have been arriving a few minutes ago.

Thank the baby's mother.

-Thank you João, but Bernardo got on a motorcycle and went to Rua Tiradentes, 287 – Cantagalo in Três Rios, where the Corporation is located, having even made a BO.

The resident of the Dona Joana neighborhood also confirms.

-I called the phone (24) 2255-5766, and spoke with the commander and he told me that the vehicles were on their way.

The mother of the baby with the documents asks some neighbors.

- Do you know who saved my son? His friend said he didn't return. That's why I'm asking.

When he hears Ricardo's hitchhiking friend, he approaches and identifies him as the owner of the vehicle parked on the side of the highway and who came to look at the smoke. Moments when he asks scared.

-But where will he be? He didn't come back.

An elderly gentleman listening added.

-If he was the one who really entered the house, he must have left through the back, and through the front entrance everything is full of rubble and the fire is still raging.

Ten minutes ago, at Rua Tiradentes, 287 in Cantagalo, the siren rang several times and the loudspeaker played inside the Tactical Corporation, alerting:

“ATTENTION, ATTENTION, FIRE DEPARTMENT VEHICLES, FIRE OCCURRENCE, CENTRAL, CENTRAL, IT'S COMMANDER VAZ”.

Among the corridors of the red courtyard, the men activate the controls with incredible speed, firefighters go down the flat iron, others run through the corridors and the siren rings, and the voice announces again.

“ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ATTENTION - FIRE DEPARTMENT VEHICLES, FIRE OCCURRENCE, CENTRAL, CENTRAL, COMMANDER VAZ”.

The gate opens, and the vehicles cross the streets of Três Rios sounding like another day's toil without delay and without rest, a day in which seconds are precious, minutes are worth a life for each firefighter, the garrison of combatants of the Três Rios Fire Brigade, with sirens on, arrive at the scene with three vehicles, one large, called ABT – Auto Bomba Tanque with transport compartment and reservoir for four thousand liters, vehicle ABSL – Auto Busca e Salvamento Leve, brand Mercedes Benz, model Sprinter 311, and the ASE – Auto Socorro de Emergência vehicle, van type with medical equipment and a mobile ICU.

Upon entering the scene of the tragedy, Lieutenant Juarez informs the central by mobile radio.

-CB – 095 - Lieutenant Juarez, attention, place of real fire in large proportions, without confirmation of victims with risk of explosion, active maneuver carried out with the water-throwing cannon. Destroyed house with no victims or injuries.

Operations Center responds:

- Then confirm the objectives, reports and the situation.

- OK.

The vehicle with Auto Pump Tank launches the material of the operation in action (water) through those hydrants positioned in the conjugated residences. In a few moments, the fire department puts out the fire, penetrating the wreckage in search of victims and property. Moments when the population screamed, others cried, warning about the presence of a man inside the house. In this operating way, the firefighters quickly enter the interior, and Sergeant Miguel is surprised to come across the extended body of a man.

-Captain Augustus! Captain Augustus! There's a victim with his legs trapped under the rubble.

-Turn on the spool adapters to remove the material, urgently.

-Yes Captain. It seems incredible this guy perished fighting with fire. But what was he doing here?

With the evolutions paralyzed and combustion terminated, Private Jorge helps Sergeant Miguel and Captain Augusto pulling the man's arms and putting him in a more pleasant position, moments in which he speaks with an air of surprise.

-Look! This man has a military corps medal in his right hand. Who is this firefighter?

-I don't know, and it's not from our corporation, it must be from Rio or Campos. Said Captain Augusto.

Tears pour down the faces of firefighters who don't understand how the fireman left.

-My God! This man is a firefighter! Christ! Not even fire touched his body. Looks like he's fought hard enough, and his hands are reddened. How could this accident not have affected his body with the rise in temperature? Call the Operations Center urgently.

The young man's body is removed and carried away on a stretcher. And the population watches the brave men of the fire wiping their eyes.

The Lieutenant asks those present:

-Do you know this man? Such questioning is part of the inspection and expertise of the site of the accident.

Mrs. Raimunda who was beside the stretcher said;

-I've never seen this man around here, because I've lived there for over twenty years and I've never seen him. But Marilu was carrying his documents.

The young man who had received a ride on the road identifies the firefighter Ricardo Moreira and sheds his tears sliding on Lieutenant Juarez's face, saying:

-Please! This man was walking with me, and I hitched a ride in his car on my way out of town, and near here he stopped the car to get a better look at some smoke that was probably coming from this house. Before, he had asked me for a favor. I'm sorry I didn't place your order. Help me for God's sake!

Sympathetic Lieutenant Juarez asks.

-What did he ask you for?

-Perhaps you wouldn't come back within ten minutes of me notifying the Fire Department. But the guy didn't identify himself and left. Lieutenant, I feel guilty about all of this.

-Calm down, please! You are not guilty. Sergeant, call the lady with the documents for inquiries.

An unidentified gentleman approaches and says that inside the duvet contained a wallet with several documents. Moments when the Lieutenant investigates and confirms through the Mobile Radio to the Operations Center that the only victim identified is the body of a soldier from the Fire Department of Minas Gerais, reporting the facts that occurred.

The mother of the newborn that the firefighter saved introduces herself to the Lieutenant, exposing a pool of tears and says:

-It was this man who saved my son. O my God! I didn't see this man entering my house. How can he lay down his own life. How can you! O my God! O my God, have compassion and mercy on this man who saved my son's life. And his family? O Jesus!

Lieutenant Juarez, consoling, says:

- Lady, he died to give life to his son, without caring about his in danger. It's all a soldier of fire is capable of doing for people and their property. Our mission is to faithfully fulfill this task every day.

A gentleman tells the Lieutenant.

- This man is one of those that the fire did not want to burn any part of his body. See that the fire passed and didn't even go up on his clothes. A true hero, a man who gave his life by throwing himself into the fire, and these things I don't understand how anything can happen.

The other spoke.

- Very strange all this. He saved the little child without the fire touching him, but he was prevented from saving himself because of the strut that fell on her leg. This is what being a firefighter is all about.

Without ado, the baby's mother completes.

- Lieutenant, I'm going to register his name on my son, because it will be the greatest honor of my life. There is nothing that repays this kindness, only love is capable of doing things even to the unknown. God will keep the best trump cards.

Tears again fell from the woman's face and everything came true in the words she had said. The local television network invades the space, broadcasting the unusual event live. Children, women, old people and teenagers looked at the body stretched out with the medal in his right hand, and the smile on the fireman's face conveyed that he was happy for the acts measured and taken to the name of honor for life. In reality, the firefighter does not measure time or space to prevail the emblem of salvation, passing through that city like an unknown hero.

In a few moments, a reddish helicopter from the Military Fire Brigade of the State of Rio de Janeiro - CBMERJ, located at Praça da República, nº. 45 – Centro, CEP 20.211-350 – tels. 3399-4000 – 33994001, lands on site. Among the occupants of the apparatus, the renowned Colonel Pedro Marco Cruz Machado, the Undersecretary of SESDEC and General Commander of CBMERJ, descended in a gala uniform. Immediately, it determined that the soldier's body would go to the Três Rios Fire Department Headquarters for a public ceremony flanked by the presence of the population and other authorities at 4 pm, in view of the National Commemoration of Fire Brigades on the 2nd. of July 2008, including the manifestation of the 152 years of existence of the CBMERJ, transferring to this solemnity, the robust proof in which a soldier Firefighter of the Corporation of Minas Gerais – Ricardo Monteiro, shouted on the day of the Firefighter the heroic and excessive act in full vocation to serve the interests of the community.

Hours later, in the courtyard of the Military Barracks located in Cantagalo, after meeting the saved child and paying homage to the Firefighter's Day, the child's mother could not contain herself from shedding tears before the other authorities present, such as: The Secretary of State for Health and Civil Defense, Dr. Sérgio Côrtes, accompanied by the Chief of the General Staff and Deputy General Commander of the CBMERJ, Colonel BM José Paulo Miranda de Queiroz, also the Commander of the Academy of Military Firefighter D. Pedro II, Lt.-c.el. BM Gilberto de Andrade Mendes, with the exponential presence of Mayor Celso Alencar Ramos Jacob, and without delay, the remarkable presence of the Honorable Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral, reviewing the Honor Guard, who moved, opened his speech honoring the authorities, and extolling the bravery of the man of fire, the Soldier of fire, the Martyr of Três Rios, bestowing meritorious honors on the Undersecretary of SESDEC and General Commander of CBMERJ, Colonel Pedro Marco Cruz Machado for the innovations outlined in the respective consents promoted in his management, freeing the floor, the General Commander, postulated on behalf of the guests the simple thanks, illustrating that on the National Day of the Fire Brigades the divine attributions in which these men with vocation, work in favor of the society and of other people's property, saving lives.

Then, with the word, the Municipal Mayor Celso Jacob greeted the authorities with mere tributes to the day of the Firefighter and the anniversary of the Military Corporation, adding in his speech sentences with splashes of clamor for the service rendered by the Hero Soldier Firefighter of Minas Gerais, showing that “the man affected by an intense love for saving lives, sometimes lends his soul to a stranger, as is the case of the child who deserves special recognition, and who, without any compensation, the firefighter from Minas Gerais, enabled with his last forces in a war against fire, surrendering life in high temperatures, unharmed, and smiling in circumstances that escape any normality. How I would like to embrace and deliver the highest commendation of the municipality of Três Rios, however, I have already determined to my secretary the merit of building a square with a bronze statue in honor of the TRÊS RIOS FIREMAN HERO at the site of the tragedy. Governor Sérgio Cabral, General Commander of the Military Fire Brigade of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Colonel Pedro Marco Cruz Machado and other authorities, with gifts and many merits, my government is already in the assistance of the family, and finally, I I was particularly moved to learn that the child's full name will be the firefighter's real name, thank you”.

And finally, the General Command of Rio de Janeiro, with the highest military honors, forwarded to the First Military Fire Battalion of Minas Gerais, the corps of FIRE SOLDIER OF TRÊS RIOS.

photos: credits Três Rios City Hall and CBMERJ.

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