TF Thunder

TF Thunder

2008-09-01

Task Force Thunder donates firefighting equipment 

PHOTOS AND STORY BY Pvt. 1ST Class Lindsey M. FRAZIER

Soldiers from Task Force Thunder, Multi-National Task Force (East), held two dedication ceremonies for donated firefighter equipment to the municipalities of Kamenicë/Kamenica and Novo Berdë/Novo Brdo. During the dry months in Kosovo, many brush and grass fires contribute to a substantial amount of fires and the equipment firefighters need to put these fires out may not be functional or even tangible.

There are many areas in the municipalities where fires may start and are inaccessible by vehicles. Firefighters must park their vehicle, then walk long distances in order to combat the fires and ensure that they don‘t get out of control. The fire department currently fights fires in the municipality of Novo Berdë/Novo Brdo with shovels when they can not get vehicles into hard-to-reach areas.

“Civilians from Iowa, KFOR and other nongovernment organizations donated money for the firefighter equipment to be given to the fire departments,” said Capt. Fredrick A. Robinson, TF Thunder S9, civil military assistance. “With the terrain being hilly, the firefighters have a hard time getting to the fires and all they have are shovels to put the fire out. So, today they were donated portable water packs that strap on their backs and radios so they have better communication.”

“The portable water packs and radios will be a great help to us. We had a lot of problems,  especially communicating with each other; we have to use our cell phones to contact each other. Now it will be a lot easier for us,” said Luan Llapashtica, a native of Novo Berdë/Novo Brdo and firefighter. “We thank you guys for bringing this equipment and the others that donated it.”

“The purpose of the project is to demonstrate KFOR’s commitment to fire protection in a multi-ethnic municipality and secure a safe and secure environment for all,” said Robinson.

Currently, the mayors of these towns are Kosovo Albanian and have shown a strong desire to bring in and work with the large Serbian population currently living in the town.

“The dedication ceremony demonstrates the resolve of the mayor to represent the concerns of all the ethnic groups living in Kamenicë/Kamenica and Novo Berdë/Novo Brdo,“ said Robinson.

“We currently have five firefighters employed, three Albanians and two Serbians,” said Llapashtica, regarding Novo Berdë/Novo Brdo. “We don’t have very much equipment, but we do our best. We feel very proud about what we do. It is a great honor to help save someone’s life no matter if it is human, animal or someone’s property.”

Projects that TF Thunder does comes from a variety of resources. The liaison monitoring team, Chaplains and patrols are out in the community everyday talking with the people and learning more about the community. The task force identifies the needs or a problem that the community has not been able to solve.

“When that happens we meet the people and see if it’s something that we could possibly help with,” Robinson said.

“Like Iwas telling the mayor, there is more need here then we have the money for. If we find something we think that we can help them with, I talk with the command MNTF-(E) and we go through a process of finding out what projects are needed most.

Then we start looking for the money to fund the project. The money could come from many different sources, then once they donate the money its officially a project and we

hire a contractor. From that point, we start the project, and I drop by everyday to make sure it‘s going well, make sure it’s on schedule, then we have a dedication ceremony,” Robinson added.

“We appreciate everything that KFOR has done for us, not just this moment, but also in the past, we always have great support from KFOR,” said Llapashtica.

“It makes you feel good, you discover the problem and you get to help, we hope that we can do a few key projects that will make a large impact on the communities,” said Robinson.