After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

There was a fire that had been notified in advance.

As firefighters facing a fire outbreak, all arrangements were well organized.

Even each detachment reserved a team in anticipation of fire outbreaks.

"Puding Squadron, extinguish the fire along the east side!"

"Yunyan Second Squadron is in charge of the water supply trunk line!"

"Baiyun Squad, approach from the other side of the mountain and set up a water gun position at the descending mouth, one trunk line supporting two guns to extinguish the blaze!"

Teams one after another ascended the mountain according to the firefighting plans already set by the detachments, established their water gun positions, and began to extinguish the fire.

Fang Huai saw how steady they were and felt somewhat dissatisfied, with the spirit of an old soldier burning fiercely within him.

But he was limited by the circumstances.

Logically speaking, with the mountain ablaze, it would be only natural to arrange for them a massive forest fire and follow it with a couple of strong winds to tie up a large portion of their forces.

However, it was not easy to simulate.

Moreover, a government leadership convoy had already driven into the scene, and seeing the imposing group of people getting out of the cars, the leaders of the various detachments hurried over to salute. Fang Huai roughly guessed that it was the provincial deputy leader mentioned by Old Zhang and the others who had arrived.

At this time, it was not good to cause too much trouble.

Old Zhang even brought with him the funding proposal he had made, hoping that if the leaders praised today’s large-scale exercise, got into the command vehicle, and sipped on the precious 2002 Baihao Silver Needle tea that Old Zhang had reluctantly brought out—his own tribute—then they would fall completely into the trap of funding.

Without peeling off a layer of skin, that man would not get out of the car.

However, unlike at the last Cultural Palace event, the fact that no performance items were arranged for today was enough to show how much importance Old Zhang placed on this exercise.

The intensity of the earthquake exercise itself was already sufficient.

Clearing the periphery required both cautiousness and physical strength; as carts were pushed in and out, the clash of steel picks, iron hoes, and layers of slag, all consumed physical strength.

Among those who came with the leaders were reporters, and many media crews began filming from various angles.

The two large posters on the top, particularly, highlighted that this was an earthquake drill against the backdrop of last month’s major earthquake, and reporters from almost every media outlet took turns filming them.

Seeing the slow cleanup of the periphery, each detachment wanted the reporters to capture more rescue scenes, and they all began to play clever tricks.

High-pressure water guns and wind force extinguishers came out one after another, clearing the peripheral ground of rusty nails and shattered glass rapidly to clear a path into the factory area for the vanguard teams of their respective detachments.

As the backbone of the Guiyang Regiment, the Second Squadron took on the role of the vanguard for the factory building.

Cao Yi, knowing full well that Fang Huai was an old soldier, looked deeply at him before leading the team into the building as he passed by.

He wanted a hint.

Fang Huai just smiled broadly and said, "Good luck! Just do what needs to be done! When rescuing, pay attention to using materials at hand."

The same tip he gave to Wang Jian.

The members of the Second Squadron immediately looked around the site.

Bricks, it was still bricks.

Use bricks for paving a path?

Fang Huai’s eyebrows lifted slightly, but he remained silent.

Cao Yi did not linger, and upon reaching the front of the factory building, he began to give orders:

"Huang Yong, set up the metal ladder! Liu Jianfeng, climb the ladder to the second floor for reconnaissance! Rescue team, to the first floor!"

"Yes!"

As soon as Huang Yong pulled out and set up the metal ladder, Liu Jianfeng scrambled up it as if flying and tumbled into the second floor.

His lighter body made him most suitable for high-risk building search tasks. If anything happened, logically, being dozens of pounds lighter would make it much easier to rescue him.

For someone like Hao Chengbin, weighing over 150 pounds, almost 40 pounds heavier than Liu Jianfeng, two people would need to go up for the rescue if there were an incident.

Fang Huai smiled as he saw Liu Jianfeng ascend to the second floor.

That was the area where he had densely placed the spoiled pork; it was a place he dared not let female soldiers enter.

Sure enough.

"Ugh..."

"Instructor Cao, damn, this is too stinky..."

Liu Jianfeng’s voice echoed down from the second floor of the factory area.

Cao Yi had smelled it too and picked up the two-way radio saying, "Mind your language!"

Fang Huai grinned and picked up the "operation" two-way radio, saying, "Second floor, dump out the rest of the stuff."

The various squadrons waiting to enter near the factory heard Fang Huai’s voice and turned to look at him.

After a moment of hesitation from the other side, they asked, "...Dump it all out now?"

Fang Huai glanced at the several squadrons in front of him and said with a smile, "Dump it all, dump it all."

Every floor in the buildings had people; the NPCs could move freely up and down the stairs.

Soon after, there were some irregular noises ringing out from all over.

And a couple of girls’ screams.

Rats and insects were not placed on the floors with female soldiers, but those things could run!

A member of a Guiyang county squadron next to him could not help but say to Fang Huai:

"Damn, brother, was that really necessary? Even using rats? We firefighters, who’s afraid of rats?"

At that moment, however, a robust man behind him involuntarily shrank back a bit:

"Damn it...I was bitten by a rat on the ear when I was little, and the one that just went past upstairs was freaking huge."

Fang Huai quirked the corner of his mouth, "No worries, those rats will be eaten by the snakes soon enough."

The soldier who had been speaking with bravado stared, taken aback, and began to shrink back.

"Crap...snakes, too?!"

Fang Huai smiled and said nothing. There were definitely no snakes; if there were, those female soldiers probably wouldn’t need saving—they would have sprinted out on their own. It was just a scare to make them more cautious.

"Three trapped individuals found on the first floor!"

"There are two more on the second floor, one inside a steel pipe with a sign telling us not to enter, and the other, trapped at the lower body by a precast slab in a crevice. There’s a wall here and the door is blocked by warning cones; there must be people inside. Send up a life detection device!"

Of course, the trapped individuals wouldn’t really be buried; these were just dummies stuffed into crevices. Certainly, some sturdier structures did contain real people.

But the rescuers could only approach from a narrow space on the other side, facing genuinely tough challenges. Moreover, if they caused a collapse by forcefully breaking in, resulting in actual entrapment, they could expect to be disciplined.

"Continue the search, prioritize finding the easiest to rescue! Zhao Jinchen, take the life detection device to the second floor!"

"Yes!"

"Regiment to regiment, five trapped individuals found, there may still be a large number of trapped individuals."

"Special Service Squadron 2 continue searching. Nanming and Xifeng Squads—enter the rescue. For more difficult rescues, leave it to Special Duty First Squadron."

The members from both squads chuckled.

Leave it to Special Duty First Squadron? Impossible!

They wouldn’t stand a chance to hand over tasks that landed in their own hands. Would they not be in deep trouble with the Captain and the Instructor once they got back?

When the regiment leadership spoke those words, it meant there were no tasks too difficult! Everything could be rescued!

Upon receiving the order, they all howled and dashed towards the factory area.

It was only when the sound of metal cutting machines started up that the rescue truly began.

But soon, the voice of a referee rang out from upstairs: "The rescue passage reinforcement is not complete, prone to collapse, Guiyang Regiment, deduct three points!"

A retort came from upstairs: "We reinforced it with rescue support bars, how is that not complete?"

No one answered.

Fang Huai laughed upon hearing the shout and shook his head.

Before 2008, exercises like these were too infrequent, many lacked even basic knowledge. How could a passage possibly be supported by a single support bar? Awareness still needed to be raised.

...

Meanwhile.

The leaders from the provincial government watched over the entire factory area, witnessing a scenario replete with both fire and earthquake disasters, with firefighters bustling about.

aerial walkways were being established between rows of buildings. The ropes of the walkways passed through the holes in the ends of the multifunctional stretchers, slowly lowering trapped individuals from the third floor. The leaders scrutinized the moving male soldier on the stretcher with frowns.

"You’re using real people in this exercise?"

Zhang Zhongting smiled: "Mixed real and fake, but the protective measures for the high-altitude zip line are complete. Leaders can rest assured, our firefighting rope skills are also very solid."

The leader then nodded: "It’s good that your firefighting force’s training is professional. I’ve watched some earthquake drills organized by government departments since yesterday and there are quite a few issues. We’ll need your firefighting comrades to provide some guidance." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Certainly, leader," Zhang Zhongting nodded, then continued:

"However, earthquakes are just one aspect. This year, natural disasters have been frequent and varied.

The 5•27 Wangmo flood, the 3•06 Southeastern Guizhou forest fire, just before and after Qingming, there have been 8 forest fires, reaching 15 in the first half of the year.

A few days ago, there was also a forest fire on Guiyang Wangmu Mountain.

The provincial government has always placed great importance on forest coverage. The pressure on us firefighters is still quite big. We’ve already applied to the General Office and proposed to the Armed Police Forest Troops to take turns being stationed in Guizhou.

However, the forest teams from Yunnan and Sichuan are under great pressure to support neighboring provinces, so we may only be able to dispatch troops from the Heilongjiang team, and the number will not be too great."

"Oh..." The leader nodded, speaking sincerely: "I’m not very familiar with that aspect. Does the Armed Police need our assistance to request help from the headquarters?"

Zhang Zhongting showed a hint of worry:

"That would be great, of course. But our Corps is still looking for ways to solve problems on our own, and our comrades below are also actively responding.

Now we have identified a path: to repurpose an elite force and organize a comprehensive emergency rescue team that is ready for large spaces and various disasters. This team will quickly respond and provide long-distance support to help the provincial government deal with various disasters.

Moreover, it will guide our entire Fire Brigade Headquarters, ensuring that in the face of complex disaster situations, our firefighting forces can step in and effectively, so as to genuinely help the provincial government solve problems.

The only issue...the resistance is substantial."

The leader, who had just become interested, turned his head, appearing concerned:

"Oh? What kind of resistance?"

Zhang Zhongting sighed: "To set up such an instructor team, we estimate we need about 60 elite members. Since it’s a team formed in response to calls from the provincial government, we’ve decided to draw talent from various detachments to Guiyang.

But it’s not easy for the detachments to cultivate talent, all are voicing their hardships. Boss Wu is actively working with them to overcome these difficulties.

As Boss Wu has instructed, in establishing this team, we need to be frugal and not cause too much trouble for the province, aiming to expand it based on existing squadrons.

Taking into account recent discussions on earthquake control at the firefighting coordination meetings, we decided to base this troop on Special Service Squadron 2, which has just been awarded a second-class meritorious service for earthquake rescue, to ensure the troop’s ability to carry out various missions."

Zhang Zhongting essentially threw the problems back to the provincial government.

You raised the issue of earthquake prevention and control at the meeting, not only did we think about it, but we also thought further. The solution has also been proposed. If the funds are insufficient and it can’t be implemented, that’s not our problem anymore.

After hearing this, the leader hesitated for a while but eventually nodded: "Hmm... having determination is good. Once you have a concrete plan, bring it to my office, and I’ll take a look."

Zhang Zhongting finally smiled: "The plan happens to be with me, leader. Let’s discuss it in the car."

The leader was stunned for less than half a second before giving Zhang Zhongting a look. Then he shook his head with a dry laugh and walked towards the Command Car.