Original title: the couple on the tower
4hw.com.cn: in the northernmost Daxing'anling Forest Region of China, there is a special 'tower' couple who silently stick to the front line of fire prevention: they live on the mountain for more than half a year, and more than half of them live on the tower 24 hours a day. The couple are employees of Xing'an forest farm of Amur Forestry Bureau in Daxing'anling area of Heilongjiang Province. Their husband Wu Hua'an is 55 years old and his wife Wang Guozhen is one year old.
In 2013, Amur forestry bureau built a 42 meter high fire watch tower on the Bank of Heilongjiang Province. Wu Hua'an and his wife volunteered to become the first pair of fire watchmen of the tower.
May is the spring prevention season in Daxing'anling area, and fire prevention is the top priority here. The most important thing for the couple is to look out from the tower and report all kinds of fires immediately. 'I go to the tower at 6 in the morning and go down at 7 in the evening. I live on the tower for about 13 hours every day. 'said Wu Hua'an.
Life on the tower is boring and urgent. Look around through a high-power telescope to see if there is a fire. In case of fire, report to the fire prevention office through radio. He said: 'the fire is merciless and can't be delayed. '
As Wu Hua'an ascended the tower, the reporter trembled, the wind from high place increased sharply, and the tower body swayed in the wind. He grasped the handrail with both hands and climbed the tower step by step, but he was like walking on a flat road.
The hut on the top of the tower is where Wu Hua'an and his wife usually work. The cabin is less than 10 square meters, with a single bed, a telescope, a gas stove, instant noodles, biscuits, noodles, ham sausage and so on. 'cook instant noodles or dried noodles on the tower at noon. You can't leave your post. You should always wait and see the surrounding situation. 'said Wu Hua'an.
A week ago, he also observed an overseas fire and timely reported it to the police to remind them to pay attention to prevention. The couple found three or four fires in five years, and none of them missed or delayed reporting.
The living conditions here are very hard. It's cold in spring and autumn and hot in summer for the temporary houses that have lived for more than half a year. "There are no families in the area of tens of kilometers. All the water we eat comes from Xing'an Forest Farm 50 kilometers away. 'Wang Guozhen says that water is saved.
In order to solve the water problem, the couple came up with a clever way to collect rainwater. On one side of the temporary board house, a rainwater collector is built. Along the downhill side of the house, there is a half foot wide nearly 3 meters long conveying channel, along which the collected rainwater is led into a cube plastic bucket. The rain can be used to wash clothes.
The annual fire prevention period in Daxinganling starts in March and doesn't go down until the mountain is snowed in early November. Wang Guozhen told reporters: 'every time we go down the mountain, the snow has no ankles. '
Although monotonous, the couple's life is full of fun. Husband Wu Hua'an is good at erhu, flute and many other musical instruments. Occasionally, some melodious music will come out from the tower to inject romance into the persistence in the forest.
Since the implementation of the natural forest protection project, commercial logging has been stopped in Daxinganling forest area. In the Amur Forestry Bureau, there are seven such couples. In the vast forest area, there are still some forestry people like them, quietly guarding the green water and green mountains.
Especially in the fire season, this "guard" will become "protection". Reporters walk through the management and protection area of Amur Forestry Bureau, and they have to accept fire inspection at every important intersection. There are 43 management and protection stations and 21 watchtowers, which form a very tight protective net.