Forest rangers receive war invalids benefits: Humane policy

Mr. Trinh Van Ha suffered severe burns while fighting a forest fire. Photo: Ngoc Linh.

More than half a year has passed, but Mr. Trinh Van Ha, a member of the specialized forest protection department at the Nghi Loc Forest Protection Management Board (FPMB), still feels startled every time he remembers the forest fire at plot 1, sub-area 960 in Nghi Tien commune, Nghi Loc district, Nghe An province at noon on August 23, 2024.

The incident occurred during extremely hot weather, and the current situation was a pine forest mixed with acacia, which is a highly flammable material, making firefighting extremely difficult. On the ground, Mr. Ha and hundreds of other people from all forces, from the forest owner unit (Nghi Loc Forest Protection Department), militia, self-defense force to forest rangers, mobile forces... had to fight the "fire" for hours to minimize some of the damage.

The management area of ​​Nghi Loc Forest Management Board is mainly pine forest mixed with acacia, which is a flammable material. Photo: Ngoc Linh.

Through counting, this fire caused the Nghi Loc Forest Management Board to lose 2 hectares of planted forest, in addition to unfortunate incidents in terms of personnel. During the process of rushing into the sea of ​​fire, many people were "scorched" by the fire, causing burns and suffocation of various levels. Mr. Hoang Van Sum suffered second-degree burns and had to be treated at Nghe An Friendship General Hospital for many days, while Mr. Trinh Xuan Ha's condition was more serious, forcing him to be transferred to Hanoi to save his life.

With over 15 years of experience, Mr. Ha is obviously no stranger to forest fire prevention and fighting, but experience cannot predict the future. Not only Mr. Ha but the majority affirm that being involved in the forestry sector means accepting hardships and difficulties, of which forest fire response is the most difficult task.

The consequences are very severe with a total injury rate of up to 52%. Photo: Ngoc Linh.

After the fire, Mr. Trinh Van Ha was hospitalized with burns all over his body, so the treatment process was very long, each skin grafting step to prevent necrosis took a whole month. Due to the complexity of the case, Mr. Ha had to be transferred to another hospital four times, until October 15, 2024, when his life was guaranteed, he was allowed to go home for convenient care.

Since then, like clockwork, every 2-3 days, Mr. Ha has to go to the hospital for regular check-ups to minimize the consequences left behind with a body injury rate of up to 52%. As someone who has directly experienced the terrifying moment, of course Mr. Ha cannot avoid feeling lost and uncertain. Fortunately, in the darkness, light has appeared at the end of the tunnel:

Mr. Ha's receiving the disabled soldier policy and preferential allowance is a good sign for the forest fire fighting department. Photo: Ngoc Linh.

"In difficult times, fortunately, I received the constant care and support of my agency, colleagues, local authorities and relevant sectors. That was a great motivation to help me speed up the reintegration process," Mr. Ha shared his heartfelt words.

The joy was doubled when Nghe An Department of Home Affairs recently officially issued Decision No. 264/QD-SNV "On granting certificates of beneficiaries of policies such as war invalids and preferential allowances". From this Decision, Mr. Ha is entitled to receive war invalid allowances from February 1, 2025 with a rate of 4,650,000 VND/month.

From there, the responsibility of forest fire prevention and fighting spreads to the whole community. Photo: Ngoc Linh.

This is good news for Mr. Ha personally as well as the entire specialized forest protection force. In fact, this force bears heavy responsibilities but suffers many disadvantages compared to the general level, the work faces many dangers but does not enjoy toxic regimes, seniority..., so the number of people doing it is increasingly selective. Furthermore, the "humane policy" also contributes to promoting the task of forest protection for the whole community.

Talking to the reporter of the Agriculture and Environment Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, Deputy Head of Nghi Loc Fire Prevention and Fighting Board, affirmed that fire prevention and fighting is the responsibility of all people, the implementation process faces many risks and difficulties, on the contrary, the benefit regime is not commensurate, the payment work only meets a small part: "The State's application of the policy for Mr. Trinh Van Ha is a welcome signal, expected to spread strongly the motivation for the specialized staff as well as the majority of people, who have directly accompanied the fire fighting throughout the past time".

Source: https://nongnghiep.vn/can-bo-giu-rung-duoc-huong-tro-cap-thuong-binh-chinh-sach-nhan-van-d745568.html