Portugal, France battle big forest fires as mercury soars
Portugal and France on Sunday battled major forest fires as temperatures rose sharply this weekend.
Portugal and France on Sunday battled major forest fires as temperatures rose sharply this weekend.
Environment
Aug 01, 2022
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Hundreds of residents and tourists have been evacuated from the east Aegean island of Lesbos (also known as Lesvos), Greece, after a wildfire broke out on the morning of 23 July. The fire, which has been raging near the coastal ...
Environment
Jul 26, 2022
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Greek firefighters on Wednesday gained the upper hand in a battle against a wildfire raging for a second day in mountainside suburbs north of Athens that had earlier forced hundreds of people to flee, an official said.
Environment
Jul 20, 2022
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More than 3,000 firefighters battled Thursday alongside ordinary Portuguese citizens desperate to save their homes from several wildfires that raged across the European country, fanned by extreme temperatures and drought ...
Environment
Jul 14, 2022
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Around 2,800 firefighters were battling multiple wildfires in central and northern Portugal on Sunday amid a heatwave, prompting the government to implement a "state of contingency".
Environment
Jul 10, 2022
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More than 900 firefighters backed by aircraft were deployed on Friday to battle a massive blaze in France's southern Gard region that burned 600 hectares (1,500 acres) overnight.
Environment
Jul 08, 2022
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Cooler temperatures helped firefighters Monday stabilize a wildfire in northwestern Spain that reports say is the biggest on record in the country.
Environment
Jun 20, 2022
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Residents of a southern suburb of Athens returned to their homes on Sunday after firefighters managed to bring under control a wildfire that had forced them to evacuate the day before, the emergency services said.
Environment
Jun 05, 2022
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Firefighters have a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from the disease than the general adult U.S. population, according to studies by the National Institute of Occupational Safety ...
Environment
May 26, 2022
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Light rain gave some breathing room to crews struggling on Monday to battle a "monster" wildfire in Spain that has killed a firefighter and forced roughly 2,600 people from their homes.
Environment
Sep 13, 2021
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Firefighters (historically, firemen) are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations. The increasing complexity of modern industrialized life with an increase in the scale of hazards has created an increase in the skills needed in firefighting technology and a broadening of the firefighter-rescuer's remit. They sometimes provide emergency medical services. The fire service, or fire and rescue service, also known in some countries as the fire brigade or fire department, are some of the emergency services. Firefighting and firefighters have become ubiquitous around the world, wildland areas to urban areas, and on board ships.
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, the English word "firefighter" has been used since 1903. In recent decades it has become the preferred term, replacing the older "fireman", since many women serve as firefighters, and also because the term "fireman" can have other meanings, including someone who sets or stokes fires - exactly the opposite of the firefighting role.
In some countries, including Australia, Canada, Chad, China, Finland, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden and the United States; there are often paid, or career firefighters working. Additionally, there are volunteer firefighters (who are theoretically unpaid) and retained firefighters (sometimes called on call or auxiliary firefighters, who are paid for the specific time they are on duty, i.e. permanent part-time career firefighters) on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In such countries as the United Kingdom and Ireland, the use of additional retained firefighters is standard. In Portugal, the use of volunteer firefighters is standard, along with career firefighters. In Australia there are volunteer brigades which are mostly unpaid rural services (although traditionally they are paid by their employers if called out during working hours).
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA