Eight months after the massive fire at the Supertanker Base, the same faces came together to help those in need. The people of Matanzas once again passed through painful and unforgettable moments, and many were brave.

As soon as he heard the news of the collapse in the chimney of the CTE Antonio Guiteras, Ernesto could not contain himself at home. A phone call was enough for him to rejoin the rescue and salvage work. The holiday did not matter, nor the difficult transportation situation to move to the Yumurina city.

“What motivated me to take the step forward was knowing that all my colleagues were working there, that there were two people trapped whose whereabouts were unknown and that there was a lot of work to do.”

Upon arriving at the scene, the main task carried out by the rescuers consisted of obtaining the means of protection, getting ready, going up to the inside of the chimney and beginning to remove debris in order to find the victim who was already located, as well as finding the one who did not know where he was.

“We did the work by relay, it was done every hour and then, as time passed, the relays were shorter because people were exhausted. Inside the chimney we were around 12 or 13 people, because it is a work of unity.”

Ernesto is afraid of cameras and microphones, because he is of few words. He does not say it, but from within, the love for the work he carries out goes beyond any circumstance.

At home when they found out that you would step forward, how did your closest relatives react?

Many experiences in so few hours. What was the most rewarding and the saddest?

«For me the greatest experience was getting two people out alive and the saddest thing was that two colleagues were lost. For me, saving lives is the best thing that has happened to me, it’s what I like to do, I feel fulfilled when I’m working and I prepare for it every day.

«I consider that I love what I do because I carry out tasks with my heart, and being able to help a person in need, save their life, comforts me.»

Ernesto has been studying to specialize in rescue and rescue since February at the National School of Firefighters.

«The main goals I have now are to finish my self-improvement course, of which I only have two months left, and to continue preparing myself.»

Upon arriving home, the recognition of the neighbors of the neighborhood and the hug of the parents and his older brother welcomed the young man from the southern town of Unión de Reyes.

painful scenes, the people of Matanzas have experienced in less than a year. Courage, love for those most in need restore hope to a people that still mourns the death of two workers at the Thermoelectric Plant, and attitudes like that of Ernesto Luis Linares García, the young rescue and rescue technician from Matanzas Command number 1 They make him trust in the future. (ALH)

Translated by Casterman Medina de Leon

La entrada Ernesto: a rescuer, a hero se publicó primero en TV Yumurí.