The village of Borok of the Gorbatsevichi village council is one of the secluded corners of the Belarusian hinterland. Shady forests, picturesque open spaces, white-winged storks soaring in the blue of the sky - everything breathes peace and grace. For about seven years, Vasily Vladimirovich Fisyuk , a veteran of the Bobruisk City and Regional Department for Emergency Situations , has been living here with his family . The quivering beauty of the surrounding nature pleases the soul, but sometimes, looking at the smooth circling under the clouds of long-legged storks, Vasily Vladimirovich feels a tight lump rolling up to his throat - this heartless memory draws in his imagination hundreds of dead symbols of happiness, absurdly spread their wings along the sides of the Bragin roads with hot in the summer of 1986...
The first acquaintance with the profession
The entry of the young Bobruisk resident Vasily Fisyuk into adulthood was direct and understandable, like that of most of his peers. The guy graduated from 8 classes, entered the Bobruisk vocational school No. 91, where he received the specialty "electric welder". In 1980, the young man was called up for military service, which he took part in air defense units near Moscow. For two years, as part of the fire department, he guarded the second transport ring of Moscow. It was at that time that the young man appreciated the work of the rescuers, felt the excitement in the fight against the elements, learned the true price of victory over them.
Returning to Bobruisk after demobilization, the young man tried himself as a welder at one of the city's enterprises. Just at this time, in 1982, the process of militarization of fire departments began in the Bobruisk region. The fire department needed physically strong, self-confident, hardy, balanced men. Vasily Fisyuk, who has all the above qualities, joined the fire department No. 2. He started as a fire chief. Everything went on as usual, and then the calm course of life changed dramatically.
Throwing yourself into hell is the duty of a rescuer
In 1986, disaster struck the Soviet Union - the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The terrible consequences of the most severe man-made disaster in human history fell on Belarus. Questions about whether to go or not to eliminate the consequences of a nuclear explosion were not even discussed in the fire departments. Rescuers were sent to the exclusion zone on shifts of 15 days. They extinguished peat bogs, forests, fields, houses 60 kilometers from the accident site. A temporary shelter was equipped for themselves in one of the schools in Bragin.
I would like to forget, but it does not work
- All people were already evacuated, but there were domestic animals - abandoned, left to their own devices. Already before our departure, I began to notice how they stray into small flocks and do not go to people. The emptiness in residential buildings was morally oppressive. Without the master's hands, everything fell into decay right before our eyes.
That year was a very hot summer. I remember that on the first day of our arrival to eliminate the consequences of the accident, we drove past a rural store. We went in, and there on the counter there was a whole bar of butter, and only one corner was cut off from it. Looks like someone else made the purchase. Then they returned, went in again, and there this oil melted, spread over the counter. What especially stuck in my memory was the road from Bragin to the entrance to the village, the roadsides of which were strewn with dead storks.
... I would like to forget, but it doesn’t work, and now some inexplicable longing does not give rest.
The firefighter must clearly carry out his tasks
After serving his watch in the Chernobyl zone, Vasily Fisyuk returned to the service. In the late 1980s, on the street. Gagarin, a fire department was built. Vasily Vladimirovich remembers how a new building was erected, as they say, from scratch. By this time, he already had considerable experience, knowledge, and skills, which served as the basis for his appointment as a squad leader. For 20 years of impeccable service, he had a chance to risk his own life more than once, go through a lot of trials and see human grief. It is impossible to get used to the death and tears of the victims, but first of all, the rescuer must be able to clearly fulfill his tasks in order to minimize human and material losses.
- And how did your wife feel about such features of your work? Worried, maybe? - I ask Vasily Vladimirovich.
Who will tell her the truth? He smiles ironically . Why would she need to know? At home, I always said that everything is fine with me, work is like work. Show me at least one rescuer who will complain to his wife that he is having a hard time. If he complains, then such an employee has no place in the ranks of firefighters.
Friendship stays the same
Vasily Fisyuk devoted 20 years to a dangerous profession. After his retirement, he did not lose contact with the Bobruisk City and Regional Department for Emergency Situations. Over the years, three of his children have matured and set foot on their independent life path. Together with his wife, Vasily Vladimirovich went away from the bustle of the city and devotes his free time to household chores. With bitterness, the veteran notes that every year the ranks of former colleagues are thinning, but the friendship between them remains just as strong, and the professionalism and experience of the older generation of rescuers serve as a wonderful example for young soldiers.
