In Tuzla, all the rescue teams that worked on extinguishing the fire and evacuating people from the Retirement Home are called heroes, although they do not want to be called that. They say – they were just doing their job. Tuzla firefighters were the first at the scene. With the help of colleagues from Srebrenik and Zivinice, as well as members of volunteer fire brigades from Tuzla and Gornja Tuzla, greater consequences were prevented through superhuman efforts.
The initial report about the fire indicated that a house near the Retirement Home was burning. However, the first team that immediately went to the intervention saw that the Retirement Home itself was on fire, and everything changed then.
“It was chaotic. First, just knowing that elderly, demented people were burning inside gave us additional motivation to put in all our effort,” says firefighter in the Professional Firefighting Unit Tuzla, Eldin Sehanovic.
“It was terrible, that flame, the smoke, we were aware that people were inside – a great confusion where you must stay composed,” emphasizes firefighter in the Professional Firefighting Unit Tuzla, Kenan Hamzic.
Numerous teams soon arrived to help – Tuzla firefighters, colleagues from Srebrenik, Zivinice, and volunteer fire brigades. There were more than 60 of them on the ground.
“All of us thought much less about our own lives and only about how to reach those people to rescue as many as we could. For me and my colleagues, a great pain and burden will remain that we did not manage to save everyone,” says Sehanovic.
“The greatest sorrow that will remain a burden to us as long as we live are those people we did not manage to save, who perhaps had already succumbed before we arrived. If only we could have saved them all in one go, but…,” adds Hamzic.
Among them there were also injured, mostly due to dehydration and exhaustion. They received medical assistance and are now in good physical condition.
“I was one of the five people who were up there, yesterday I was discharged home with test results, they told me to monitor the situation and report if anything happens,” says Hamzic.
“For me, as the youngest member, there will probably be a need for psychological help, to talk to someone, because this is something that cannot be forgotten,” notes Sehanovic.
“We must go on, we must continue to work on ourselves, on our psychological state after all of this, we must continue to help citizens because that is our job, that is our duty,” concludes Hamzic.
Although it will take a long time for the souls of these brave people to recover, they have already returned to their workplaces, ready once again to risk their lives to save others, Federalna writes.
