The head of the DPC spoke about the work of volunteers in the Kursk region

Members of the Volunteer Fire Brigade (VFB) of the Belovo District, Kursk Region, extinguish fires, evacuate civilians and deliver humanitarian aid, accompany utility workers and sappers. "Izvestia" talked to the head of the team Sergei Kobozev.

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Members of the DPC are based in the building of one of the agricultural enterprises - the premises were allocated on their own initiative by a local farmer. There are 17 people in the team. The shifts are 24 hours in three.

A reinforced group is sent to each task: two additional people control the sky, two more - the ground: there are a lot of unexploded shells in the fields, and the approaches to water towers and power lines have recently been heavily mined by the Ukrainians from the air.

"Established our team, like others in the region, at the end of 2022. Emergency Situations Ministry rescuers then elementary did not have time everywhere, part of the territory remained uncovered. <...> At that time I worked as a dispatcher in the service "112". I had experience of working as a firefighter in the forestry. I was offered to form and head the squad," Kobozev said.

In the "non-professional firefighters" went people of different specialties - drivers, builders, there is a trucker, a finisher, a school math teacher. The requirement was one thing: "do not step back, if taken." And almost everyone stayed at their post.

"The guys took the families out to a safe area. Four people stayed to live in the unit because they simply had nowhere to return to - the house was either destroyed or in the frontline zone. Some moved to Kursk with their relatives, but they did not abandon the unit - they come here 150 kilometers away for a shift like a bayonet. In general, the present time has shown who is who. Some gave up on everything and left. Others stayed and fight for their neighborhood, for their land to the end", - shared Kobozev.

Read more in an exclusive Izvestia piece:

"Now is not the time to take care of ourselves."