Fireman loves his risky job despite not being prestigious<\/p>\n
By Emmy Fitri<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Ever wonder why certain people choose to take
\nperilous professions such as being a fireman?<\/p>\n
Fifty-year-old Sunaryo Wiryo, who has served Central Jakarta
\nFire Agency for more than 28 years, simply said, \"I needed a job
\nat the time. But I love this risky job now. I enjoy it very
\nmuch.\"<\/p>\n
He told The Jakarta Post that he had not even thought about
\nbecoming a firefighter at the time he decided to leave his
\nvillage in Central Java in 1973.<\/p>\n
\"I wanted to be a nurse instead,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In his early months in the capital, the young Sunaryo learned
\nthat it would take a lot of money to become a nurse. He
\nremembered that he had to pay Rp 12,000 - a huge sum of money at
\nthat time - to stay at a dormitory and was required to spend even
\nmore money for the course.<\/p>\n
\"A nurse is such a noble profession. I was born in a small
\nvillage and was brought up to think that teachers, soldiers and
\nnurses were respectable professions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But his dream to become a nurse never materialized as he could
\nnot afford the course.<\/p>\n
Sunaryo later applied to be a fireman after a friend told him
\nthat the city fire agency needed one.<\/p>\n
After all, a nurse and a fireman have something in common:
\nthey have to care for others and serve those in need.<\/p>\n
For many people, being a firefighter is not regarded a
\nprestigious career, he said, but to him, the profession is not
\nonly precious as his livelihood but it has been a whole way of
\nlife for him.<\/p>\n
\"There are so many things I could say about this profession,\"
\nthe well-built fireman said.<\/p>\n
However, Sunaryo found it difficult to single out the most
\ninteresting stories. \"All the incidents that have occurred during
\nmy duty are special, unique.\"<\/p>\n
He described his work as being like a policeman or a reporter
\nwho deals with different cases that are never exactly the same
\nevery day.<\/p>\n
\"However, I am really, really sad if a fire engulfs houses in
\na slum area... I don't have the heart to see many people crying
\nnext to their ravaged houses and belongings.\"<\/p>\n
Fires are unpredictable as they can happen anytime and
\nanywhere and therefore all members of the fire brigade have to be
\nready all the time and to be \"physically fit\" to work, Sunaryo
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In the capital, two or three fires are reported a day but
\nduring the dry season the number can double.<\/p>\n
When asked what the firemen do when there are no fires,
\nSunaryo said, \"At all fire brigade posts, there are always chess
\nsets, cards, karambol (mini billiard) tables and, in some
\nlocations, billiard tables. They are all provided to keep us
\nawake and for us not to get bored waiting for fire calls.\"<\/p>\n
\"We also play volley ball sometimes. Some of my colleagues
\nlike to wash the fire engines during our spare time or just chat
\namong ourselves, having coffee and smoking cigarettes.\"<\/p>\n
Strong bonds and feelings of solidarity among the firemen is a
\nbenefit of his profession, which he believes is rarely found in
\nother fields, which are full of rivalries among peers.<\/p>\n
Sunaryo recalled how mixed feelings struck most firemen if
\nthey were trapped in difficult choices of whether to extinguish
\nthe fire, rescue fire victims, save a colleague or save oneself.<\/p>\n
He gave an example about such feelings when his friend, Danu
\nSisworo, a team leader of the Central Jakarta Fire Brigade was
\nkilled in a large fire that destroyed the four-story Harco
\nelectronics shopping center on Jl. Mangga Dua, Sawah Besar on
\nApril 4, 1997.<\/p>\n
Sunaryo was working to put out the fire at one side of the
\nblazing building, while Danu was on the other side.<\/p>\n
\"Most of us were sad and confused at the time. We wanted to
\nsave our friend, to extinguish the fire and we still had the
\nfeeling that we had to save ourselves, too,\" he recalled.<\/p>\n
With the inherent risks and dangers in their work, Sunaryo
\nsaid his salary was only Rp 3,000 a month when he first joint the
\nfire agency in 1973. Sunaryo said the amount increased gradually
\nand now he receives more than one million rupiah per month.<\/p>\n
Is it enough to meet the daily needs for his family with his
\nonly son going to high school? Sunaryo said, \"I have said to my
\nwife and my son that the amount of my monthly earnings will
\nalways be the same so it depends upon how we use it.\"<\/p>\n
\"My wife is just a housewife but she is the kind of person who
\nis ready to be poor and not demanding,\" Sunaryo said, proudly.<\/p>\n
Although he loves the challenge of putting out a fire, Sunaryo
\nsaid that everyday, before leaving for work, he always hoped that
\nthere were not going to be any fires.<\/p>\n
\"Whether there is a fire or not, we are still paid. So, let
\nthere be no fires,\" he laughed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fireman-loves-his-risky-job-despite-not-being-prestigious-1447893297",
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