Joanfra Farreras: "What affects me most are the rescues involving children."

"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.

What was your last service?

— Rescuing two cows. How you feel.

What was happening to them?

— They escaped from the meadow they were in, got caught in a torrent, it rained, and they couldn't get up or down. The owner called us when he found them.

What did he do?

— We wanted to get them out by helicopter, because we have a harness for large animals, but when we had them tied up, they moved, slipped on the mud and fell, hanging in the air.

How did you remove them?

— We left ropes until we reached the bottom. 500 kilos each. I'd never done that before, taking down a cow, because normally when there are problems like this with cows and horses, they come out by helicopter.

Well, they must be amazed when they find themselves...

— Yes, and the image of the animal up there, hanging from the rope, is beautiful.

Are animals or people more complicated?

— The problem with animals like dogs is that they can escape in an open environment. And rescuing people is difficult when they've been seriously injured.

What is the most difficult rescue?

— Those underground, by far. A person was once injured while caving in Cuberas Cave, the largest cave in Catalonia. I think the rescue lasted more than 20 hours.

Because?

— Because there were very narrow spaces where only the stretcher could pass. In cases like this, we had to spread out across different sections. We often found ourselves having to use micro-explosives to clear a space. It's difficult.

And the worst company for a rescue?

— Adverse weather.

Any examples?

— A climber fell in the Vallter area. His partner had no signal and was slow to alert him. When we arrived, he was hanging from the ropes, almost unconscious.

Was the weather bad?

— It started to rain and it was foggy, so the helicopter couldn't pick us up, and night fell. We put him on the stretcher, lowered him, and walked to a road for several hours in the rain until we reached an EMS ambulance.

It can't be easy, putting someone hanging from a mountain on a stretcher.

— And you have to be very careful with handling, because you don't know if someone has been hurt and you could end up breaking something. But when you know your life is at stake, you have to move quickly.

They should be thanked a lot.

— Yes, I remember another climber who was also unconscious, and from a distance we could already see blood spurting from an artery in his head. He came back a while later to thank us for saving him. His speech was still slurred from the aftereffects. It affected me.

Because?

— It was the same thing that had happened to me a while back. I suffered a trauma, and I was left hanging. I spent four days in a coma in the hospital, and they told my family that I most likely wouldn't make it.

Luckily, they were wrong.

— And that's why I'm doing that work today. But that day, that boy, and that blood... I don't know, I saw myself a while back.

It must be incredible, the moment they see you arrive.

— A while ago, a boy went missing in Els Ports de Tortosa-Beseit. He'd gone trekking, got caught in the snow, and got lost. We searched for him and found him, crawling, after he'd been lost for two or three nights. He was absolutely emaciated, but he tried to smile and hugged us. I think he sensed he wouldn't have survived another night. That's how life can be at stake.

What cases affect you the most?

— Rescues involving children. It's always said that you shouldn't fully empathize with the person you're trying to rescue in order to work in emergencies, because otherwise it would always affect you. And I think I've got that pretty under control, but not with children.

Normal.

— We respond to traffic accidents when a car falls into a torrent or a pothole. And I remember arriving at a vehicle with the mother dead, the father seriously ill, and the little girl in the back, crying. What can you say in these cases?

Is it hard to live with death at work?

— No one can teach you. At the beginning of working in emergencies, you start seeing deaths; it affects you, but you get used to it. When I arrive at a place where someone has died, I feel bad, but there's nothing I can do. What affects me is when someone is seriously ill and someone else's life depends on me.

But most cases shouldn't be serious, right?

— We did a service with some kids who had finished their telecommunications degree and were on a hike in Montserrat and got lost. They were using their cell phones and relied on technology. It led them down the wrong path, they ran out of battery... And when we arrived, I asked them, "Do you know what a paper map is?"

So cell phones are hurting us.

— We don't know how to find our way or read maps. And those in charge want to be on the safe side and make us go out for everything. But there are cases of people who suffer from predicted bad weather. Or that darkens them. Well, they should have planned well, left earlier! If there's always a solution, they won't learn the lesson. Obviously, cell phones have saved many lives, but when there weren't cell phones, people were more vigilant.

What is the most important thing in the mountains?

— Know your environment. A summer day isn't the same as a winter day and nightfall. Have experience and know what you can and can't do. And know how to read maps.

You also go into homes to mobilize morbidly obese people. Do you encounter these cases?

— Yes, there are. Society doesn't see them because they're locked up at home. But when they have to go out, they can't go down the stairs or take the elevator. So we go and get them out onto the balcony using the ladder or ropes.

And what do they say to him?

— They apologize. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

The hardest moment you remember.

— The death of GRAF comrades in Horta de Sant Joan.

A happy moment.

— An elderly couple. We spent an entire winter night looking for them. We thought they wouldn't make it... and we found them, half-naked and hugging, had fallen into some brambles.