The ground shook, and the tremor spread through walls and ceilings. Houses were reduced to rubble, and some of their inhabitants were buried under mountains of sand and stones. The epicenter of the earthquake was in northern Pakistan, a rugged territory of steep peaks where the scars of warring militias are part of the landscape. The first team to reach one of the affected areas was a group of Turkish rescuers, sent to provide aid where the Pakistani authorities could not reach. They set up camp, and the initial reports were difficult: there were victims trapped in the rubble. International regulations, established by the United Nations, stipulate that the first rescuers to arrive at a location were responsible for directing the operation and coordinating the teams from other countries as they arrived. A group of Catalans arrived, made up of firefighters from both the Generalitat and Barcelona. "Hello, how can we help?" one of them asked. He speaks in Catalan despite being in Pakistan and addressing a group of Turks.Sorry“?” the Turk replies. The Catalan smiles and switches to English. He smiles because he's not facing a Turkish rescuer, but a firefighter from Barcelona, ​​like himself, with whom he has shared many calls. They aren't in Pakistan either, although the freezing cold this afternoon feels like it belongs to the country at the Masia de Voltregà, in Osona. It's a drill, but everyone is taking it very seriously, to the point that they have to communicate in English, just as they always have when they've gone to help in Haiti, Morocco, Guatemala, Chile, or Greece. A nurse was left at airport customs – a supermarket parking lot – because she didn't have a necessary vaccine.

"Shelter, electricity, water, food..." Joanfra Farreras repeats the most basic things you should take into the mountains. But he adds an essential element we've forgotten: paper maps. "It's important to know how to read them and not rely 100% on technology." He knows what he's talking about, because he's had to carry out some rescues of people who got lost, relying entirely on technology. He's spent 17 years accessing the most difficult places, whether in mountains, houses, or buildings. He's part of the GRAE Firefighters' group.