“I'm here to help” this was a young man an unwavering promise to firefighters battling flames in Kosovo's Sharr Mountains.
Allmedin Smaili, a dentist from the city of Prizren, had no special equipment when he arrived at our place. volunteer; only his motorcycle and his sheer determination to fire that spreads.
His lack of experience as a firefighter did not stop him.
The 26-year-old grabbed a few jugs of water and then ran to the top of the mountain, where huge swaths of pine trees were on fire.
That's what he's been doing for the past week: riding his motorcycle up and down hills and delivering water to firefighters.
Two men at the fire station fill backpacks with 25 liters of water each. Allmedin then transports these to other teams to extinguish the flames.
He usually carries two backpacks with water (50 liters in total), food and bottles of drinking water.
“When I saw what the firefighters were going through and how dedicated they were, I told myself I had to do something,” he said as he prepared to carry more water.
The Sharr Mountains are where Allmedin and his friends ride their motorcycles over the rough terrain.
On Wednesday, the volunteer called three other friends to get more water as the wind doused the flames.
An American helicopter from the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo also began dropping water.
The challenge is to prevent trees from burning slowly, which can reignite and create an even more destructive fire.
Video footage from a GoPro camera shows Allmedin handing out water to his new colleagues as he rides his motorcycle over trails made by brown bears and wild goats.
“Dirt biking is a hobby for me, but this week it became a real job,” he says with a laugh.
'When I see the effect, it gives me pleasure and I haven't been tired for a moment in the past few days.'
On its left and right sides steep slopes can be seen, while traces of old burnt areas are still visible.
Fire trucks are unable to reach the site, which is approximately 1,900 metres above sea level.
“To reach the highest point with water on our backs takes us three hours and the boy did it in less than ten minutes,” said Flamur Hoti, the fire brigade commander.
“We never thought he would be so helpful.”
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