With their GMC Suburban loaded, Chief Triozzi and Assistant Chief Francesco Rossetti left the comforts of the Sheraton Hotel and headed for what the United States Army has coined as the "Wild Wild, West" - Baghdad. Once in the city, Chiefs Triozzi and Rossetti of the Fire Rescue Development Program (F.R.D.P.), www.frdp.org, will be tasked with assessing the current state of the country's fire department and with formulating recommendations for its reconstruction. With their hired, unarmed driver, the men began a 12-hour trek that would take them across the barren deserts to the epicenter of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
At 12:30 p.m. they crossed the Jordanian border, leaving them with 600 km of desert in front of them and without a doubt, on the most dangerous stretch of the trip. After three and half hours the driver pulled into a rest stop for fuel. Then waited around to see if there were other similar vehicles heading to Baghdad. Since the road into Baghdad between the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah is extremely dangerous, people often form convoys as they travel. Even when they were able to join other cars, the driver was nervous and very uneasy through this stretch.
"Ali Baba" - the name out of literature given the thieves and bandits that plague the highways of Iraq - are often the responsible for the robberies. They rob an average of 18 people a day, often taking all of their money and possessions. The bandit gangs are comprised of groups of 6 to 8 men armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket propelled grenades. In this area where Coalition Forces often come under fire, Saint Barbara (Patron Saint of Firemen in Italy) seemed to have protected them that day. There were no bandits out and they arrived at USAID HQ at 17:35 p.m.
The FRDP is a non profit, international, non-governmental organization, comprised of firefighters, officers and chiefs from eight countries on three continents. Their mission is to assist the firefighters in developing and war torn countries in rebuilding and organizing their response. They aim to make the personnel efficient with the resources that are available to them, and to teach techniques that are applicable in their countries. The FRDP was contacted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The role of USAID is to assist under-developed countries with aid and assistance in rebuilding infrastructure.
At USAID headquarters, Chief Triozzi met with Mr. Getu Reta who would serve as their point of contact while in the country. They were also able to meet with Major Brent Gerald who is part of CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) and is assisting the fire service just in the city of Baghdad. Major Gerald also serves as a captain with the Greensboro, North Carolina Fire Department. He was knowledgeable and well-informed of the issues in Baghdad. From here they began the assessment of the country's fire service. The conditions and lack of resources would be astounding by any measure of firefighting in normal industrialized countries, but was not surprising to Chief Triozzi.
Many of the firehouses fell to the looting and anarchy following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Little was left for the firefighters to use in combating the fires that were raging in the city. In several firehouses the quick thinking firemen took what equipment they could to safe havens. In one case even the treads of the stairs were stolen. Much of what wasn't taken was broken. This included all the windows, furnishings and tools. The Iraqi Fire Service in the past, as a source of income, recharged fire extinguishers. All that equipment was destroyed as well.
Apparatus, despite being relatively new, were in poor shape. They too have been stripped of all equipment, though the majority was still operable. Most apparatus in Iraq is comprised of aerial platforms and tankers. The tankers, French Sides, have 7500 liter tanks and are mounted with French pumps and British 65mm male-female quick connect fittings. The aerials are mostly Finnish 42m Brontoskylifts.
Personal protective equipment was scarce, though this was an existing problem according to Triozzi. Often where turnout gear was available, the firefighters knew little about how to properly don the gear. Chief Triozzi watched as one of the firefighters attempted to pull on a pair of bunker pants over his boots.
"The majority of the training provided to the members of the fire department was with regard to EOD (Explosives and Ordinance Disposal) which was where the main emphasis of civil defense was placed," said Triozzi. "There is some firefighting training although it is nothing more than a "surround and drown" tactic. Knowledge of vehicle extrication is non-existent along with most other rescue techniques."
According to Triozzi, manpower right now seems to be adequate. "There are roughly 7,000 firefighters in Iraq divided into three 24-hour shifts. However provisions for hiring and training new firefighters and creating an officer corps is non-existent at the current time," he said.
Speaking with many of the members of these firehouses through an interpreter, Chief Triozzi noted that most of the firemen stood their post even during the climax of the bombing by U.S. and British forces. Other cities' services including the police services, ceased their operations and ran for cover. Chief Triozzi noted that he had witnessed before, while serving in Bosnia, a strong sense of duty among firefighters. Triozzi recalls, "In 1993 I was a captain serving with UNPROFOR [the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia] alongside the Sarajevo Fire Department. When the air raid sirens went off everyone, including police and soldiers, went into the shelters. Once the shelling began the fire department would roll to one fire after another in an attempt to limit the damage being hurled on the city."
Triozzi says the communication between the Iraqi people and the fire department is as primitive as you can get. "For a report of a fire, citizens must either go to local firehouse or the firefighters simply watch the horizon for a column of smoke," he said. "We were staying in one of the hotels occupied by mostly foreigners and foreign press in Iraq which was 18 stories tall. So from our hotel room we had a fantastic view of the city."
After responding to several fires, Chief Triozzi recalls the scenes as "very uncontrolled and confusing." He explained the difficulty of recognizing the firefighters from the average citizen. "Little thought was used to the positioning of apparatus and deployment of attack lines."
One of the most chaotic incidents occurred at a junkyard fire. In addition to discarded refrigerators, washing machines and scrap metal, someone had thrown out a couple of mortars they apparently no longer had any use for. "One exploded during the firefighting operation, but luckily no one was injured."
"I then had them reposition the tanker and attempted to have the firefighters operate from behind a shack built of terra cotta blocks, and arc the water over the roof of the shack to hit the fire while protecting themselves and their equipment from any subsequent explosions. They weren't too happy with that idea and were unable to properly operate the pump so the stream of water couldn't reach the flames. They then decided to climb on top of the shack and hit the fire directly from above it. They were in the direct line of fire should any more ordinance go off."
Triozzi went further on to explain, "My Assistant Chief, Francesco Rossetti, took the ladder off the rig, given their decision to get on the roof. However, rather than use the proper ground ladder, the Iraqi firemen assembled a pyramid of buckets and crates to climb onto the roof. None of the men wore any kind of protective clothing, not even boots or gloves." The scene was repeated time and time again as Chief Triozzi went to various fires within the city. "No PPE, no coordination of efforts, unfamiliarity with the equipment, no knowledge of techniques or basic concepts of fire behavior. It's just simply surround and drown and usually with foam."
Not only were the fire scenes uncontrolled, but his ability to "read" a crowd from past experiences were invaluable. "At a certain point, you just know the situation will turn sour and it's best to leave. Looking at someone who may have a guilty conscience. Or if someone makes a remark regarding the presence of foreigners or someone could insult someone else and if you're perceived as siding with one or another simply by having shaken someone's hand, could make you the target for aggression." Triozzi states the animosity may not involve you or your good intentions. Your presence alone could cause things to escalate. "It's very delicate and very complex and very dangerous," he said.
The reception of the foreign firefighters was a mixed bag. There were definite signs of animosity toward Americans, mixed with some warm reception, states Triozzi.
Despite being born and raised in the New York City suburbs, Triozzi and Rossetti, who is South African, placed Italian flags in their New York style leather helmets to indicate their nationality. "I felt it was the best way to show that we were our own group and were there for a specific reason. Additionally, the apathy of the general population to the politics of Italy and Iraq, stirred little controversy. In addition the Operational HQ of the F.R.D.P. is in Rome."
Not only are fires running rampant throughout the city, the injuries sustained in fire is staggering. Daily, over 100 burn victims are brought to the makeshift Italian Red Cross field hospital that is located in an open parking lot in downtown Baghdad. Chief Triozzi notes the injuries are primarily to ignorance. Gasoline is used to light stoves for cooking. Flammable liquids are kept inside the home so it won
