One of the most dangerous jobs in this world is working as a firefighter. For Ali Mohamud Wehliye, this is the job he has been living for more than 11 years.
“I was involved in 503 firefighting accidents,” Wehliye said.
Prior to the current job, Wehiliye worked as a mechanic. “I first started training as a mechanic in 2001,” Wehliye explains. He notes that his training as a mechanic made it easy for him to switch to his current job as a firefighter.
The risky job combined with the prevailing security situation in Mogadishu has made him a hero who serves society well. Aside from work, Wehliye sees himself as someone who is in the process of saving lives and property.
“I have suffered injuries from cuts from iron plates while fighting a fire,” Wehilye said.
Need for firefighting in Somalia
Firefighting services are important to our daily lives and there is property for protection. Somalia has always had a shortage of firefighters. This shortage increased with the fall of the central government in 1991. Since 2000, there was a fire department in all the respective governments, but did not provide services to the citizens.
Fire in the primary market has reduced assets to one (1) billion US dollars. Many lives were lost after fires broke out in residential areas, while many have suffered life-threatening injuries and on top of many are still living with physiological trauma from these incidents. It is difficult to estimate the value of assets lost in fire incidents in Somalia, but it runs into millions.
Mogadishu ranks high in the number of fire incidents in Somalia as it hosts business premises where there are assets. It’s hard to measure the number of times the company burned, and it was hard to stop until all the assets were destroyed and claimed lives.
What did the first firefighters do in Mogadishu?
Somalia’s leading telecommunications company Hormuud established the fire service in 2006 after the fall of the government in 1991. “There was no fire service in the Banaadir region and its environs, and that is why Hormuud’s fire brigade was set up,” said Abdullahi Noor Osman, head of Hormuud. Salaam Foundation.
According to data from the Hormuud Fire Fighting Unit, it successfully took 532 fires that broke out in the city. “In the past, we provided firefighting services to the Banaadir region, but firefighters from the Banaadir administration are also involved in extinguishing fires,” Abdullahi noted. According to the CEO of the Hormuud Saalam Foundation, almost 70% of the fire incidents in Mogadishu, Elesha Biyaha and Beled Hawo were responded to by the Hormuud Fire Fighting Unit. Residents in these areas call our toll-free line at 998, he added.
“The most dangerous fire incident that I attended to put out a fire was at the Bakara market, where I was inside the fight against the fire for 24 hours,” said Ali Mohamud Wehliye, one of the early recruits for Hormuud’s firefighting. . “I feel like I’m doing my job while helping people at the same time,” Wehliye said.
Mens and his team have saved many lives and property that were caught in fire incidents. “In the Bakara market, we are saving the lives of the elderly. We also rescued two households that were trapped after a fire broke out in their home. In Souq Bacaad, we also rescued an elderly person, a lady and a young man. In Ali Kaamin, we rescued a baby who was caught in the fire, “Wehliye said.
The need for firefighting service still exists.
While all of Somalia desperately needs firefighting services, Mogadishu where the need lies most. Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, which is also the main hub for the country’s commercial activities, does not have adequate firefighting service compared to current needs.
Mogadishu’s growing population plus the number of new businesses set up and also the increase in the number of apartments make it firefighting service huge. The existing fire extinguishing services are inadequate compared to the needs. “You can feel the weight of the case when there is only one firefighting center serving all 17 districts of Mogadishu, home to three million people,” Abdiqani Mohamed Ahmed, director of the Banaadir Fire Brigade, told the BBC in 2019 .
The fire is spreading rapidly in Mogadishu due to the city’s initial planning. During the windy season, the fire spreads rapidly. Some of the buildings are made of iron plates and wood. Public awareness of fire is also very low.
“We are educating the public about fire management during the incidents and how they can prevent it,” said Said, head of the Hormuud-Salaam Foundation, Abdullahi Osman.
