João Paulo Ruivo, in the village of Boa Vista in Portugal, saves a sheep during the fire. photo EFE
His photo is probably one of the most symbolic of the devastating fires that haunted much of Portugal for five days: Joao Paulo Ruivo22 years old, he was captured by a photographer while he carried a sheep on his shoulders after saving her from a burning field.
The image, which was taken in the village of Boa Vista, in Leiriaimmortalized him as a hero. One of those anonymous helpers who risk every day to collaborate with local firefighters to save victims and contain the various sources of fire that have been generated by the intense heat wave that Europe has suffered since the beginning of the summer.
Inevitably, her photo went viral. The intention of the young man who works in a carpentry in the area, however, was not to not be the protagonist of the tragedy caused by the wave of fires, classified by experts as “the most serious since 2017.”
A firefighter who fights fires in Portugal. photo EFE
He said this in a dialogue with the newspaper Village to the question: “At that moment I was focused on wanting to help others, it was a nice gesture on my part, but I don’t want to be the main face of this tragic accident. It is not correct to be famous for a fire, because then firefighters should be famous”Said João Paulo Ruivo 48 hours after the fact.
In this sense, he explained that the only thing he was thinking about at the time was lending a hand to the professionals who couldn’t make it.
A hydraulic plane carrying out fire source control duties in Baiao. photo EFE
“People think I want this fame and I don’t want it, it’s not for me. There were so many colleagues who did the work that the firefighters didn’t do because they couldn’t get anywhere, ”said those who want to avoid giving more interviews.
In this sense, he provided details on the situation in which he was photographed, when he went to rescue several animals that were on a farm surrounded by flames.
“They were surrounded, nervous and could not see well,” said the rescuer, adding that the sheep he had lifted on his back was injured and together with her they managed to get about 40 goats and 20 sheep out and moved them to the back of the metal carpentry workshop where he works, owned by his uncle António Ruivo who also participated in the solidarity rescue in Boa Vista.
A group of neighbors watch the smoke from the burnt fields. photo EFE
In this sense, António stressed: “There were firefighters somewhere, but they can’t be everywhere. Many serious situations have been avoided here thanks to the intervention of the neighbors, ”he said.
He also called the situation “distressing”. And he agrees with his nephew when he belittles the importance of the rescue they carried out: “When you do it it’s not a matter of pride, you just want to help,” he said, assuring that they believe the fire was not of natural causes but that they caused it on purpose.
Between flames and desperation: the fires in Spain, France and Portugal, in the photo
Fires in Portugal
The wave of fires in Portugal began just over five days ago and has already left a toll of 813 fires, one dead and 135 injured.
According to the newspaper El País, firefighters are overwhelmed by the number of simultaneous accidents and because “what is checked at night is out of control during the day as temperatures rise”.
In this sense, the government has extended the state of emergency until this Sunday.
DB
Source: Clarin
