Canadian Troops Help Kabul Fire Brigade

(By: Robert J. Galbraith in Kabul)

15/09/05

A specialized unit of the Canadian Armed Forces are helping save lives in Kabul, Afghanistan by donating their time and expertise to assist local fire departments with much needed equipment and technical support.

The team, named the CIMIC's (Civic Military Cooperative), are a liaison between military and civilian needs. "Anywhere the Canadian Military goes, there is an impact on local populations, and we try to help where we can. In this instance we are enhancing the fire service of Kabul. It is a joint operation with the Finnish Army CIMIC unit,"explained Warrant Officer Peter Hartwig, a native of Collingwood, Ontario, who is based at CFB Petawawa.

The CIMIC team, who's members are from Collingwood, Kitchener, Ottawa, Cornwall and Toronto, are involved in many diverse projects, including the expansion of a girls school, digging of wells and providing non-military support of the local police.

"In the case of well building, we work through the local people, so we can have a more effective impact by letting them take care of the wells. Instead of just digging a well for them, we ask the locals where they want it placed to better serve them. That's exactly what we are here for. We are providing equipment and expertise, and they put them in the ground,"says Hartwig.

The two booster pumps that the Canadians and Finns gave to the department were donated by an anonymous donor a year-and-a-half ago, and were sitting idle at Camp Julien. One of the Finns, a firefighter, saw the units and decided that they should be made available and refitted to make them easier for the fire department to use.

The pumps had been fitted with complicated controls, very technical in nature and difficult for the firefighters to use and maintain. "We striped them down to make them as simple as possible. Portability is crucial, as you move them around from fire to fire."Says George Deveaux (a native of Nappanee, Ontario), a quality engineer for the engineering firm SNC Lavalin, who is assisting the CIMIC team.

"A lot of tenement homes are poorly constructed and located half-way up the mountains. The Bedford pumper trucks they use were unable to access the slopes, and the lack the water pressure to force the water up the hills made it impossible to fight these type of fires, and keep them from spreading,"commented Deveaux. "We took off all the extra controls and electrical mechanisms and made them simpler and more portable. For example, when the power shuts off, they start up alone. They are now very low maintenance."

To Kabul Fire Chief, Mohammad Kazim, the pumps will help save many lives in the future. "I know that everyone is human, and humans help humans. So we thank the Canadians and the Finns. They are our brothers and we appreciate their assistance,"said the Chief, who also serves as a colonel in the Afghani Army.

"The 25 years of war destroyed everything in Afghanistan, economical, political, social and industrial"he explained. "The wars, especially the Soviet occupation, divided the people into different parties and sent us into a civil war. After the Soviets left, the rival factions captured Kabul and destroyed the government system. They not only destroyed everything but they stole everything that was left. We lost a lot of workers and officers in the civil war,"said Kazim.

"Hundreds of thousands of rockets were launched into Kabul, and it was very difficult to control the fires with the little equipment we had. Every day we had a lot of fires in different places, but we were not able to control them. I cannot tell you my deep feelings but, it was very difficult to see your city burn around you."

Chief Kazim said that thousands of people lost their lives in the fires.

One incident remains as the most poignant memories, one that is burned into his memory because of the symbolism it represented. "I received a call that a book store was on fire, but when I arrived on the scene, their were two armed men there. They said they were going to let it burn, right in front of my eyes, and told me that the next time they saw me, they would kill me,"said the 48-year-old chief.

The dedicated men of the Canadian CIMIC Team are well aware of such stories, but they keep true to form, with the ghosts of past wars, visible at each turn of the street, in this city of 3 million souls. Regardless of the past darkness, Warrant Officer Hartwig keeps his perspective conducting a job he and his fellow team members love to carry out. "Instead of giving them fish,"he says, "We teach them how to fish."