H ευχαριστήρια επιστολή τουρίστα από τη Σιγκαπούρη, προς τους άντρες της Πυροσβεστικής Υπηρεσίας Πτολεμαΐδας

H ευχαριστήρια επιστολή τουρίστα από τη Σιγκαπούρη, προς τους άντρες της Πυροσβεστικής Υπηρεσίας Πτολεμαΐδας

Good evening,

I am a tourist from Singapore in Greece on vacation. I am writing this letter to inform you of the heroic deeds the firefighters at Ptolemaida Fire Department endured today. I myself was saved by these brave men at about 12 am, including the chief of the fire department, Mr Spiridis Xhristos.

At approximately 4pm on the 11th of June, I was driving from Kastoria to Nymfaio, but unfortunately took a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end. I reversed and tried to get myself out of the situation but one of my wheels got stuck in the mud and could not be moved.

Panicking, I dialled every number I could think of – my car rental, 24h road services, the offices at both Athens and Thessaloniki, and every time, the person would tell me that someone is on their way and I should be receiving help in about an hour or so.

But help never came.

They all made excuses as to how they couldn’t find me, or how the road I was on was closed off, and took turns giving up the search.

At approx. 9pm, I had lost all hope of being rescued, and decided to try again in the morning.

Unbeknownst to me, the firefighters from Ptolemaida Fire Department were still searching for me, even after the sun had set. At 11:50pm, I received a phone call from one of the firemen, asking me to switch on my headlights for them to track my location easier. They brought along 6 firemen and 2 vehicles to move my Fiat Panda out of the mud. The road was extremely narrow and difficult to manoeuvre, yet they managed to do it with their bulky vehicles. After the rescue, though, it came to their attention that one of my tyres was flat, likely from my initial attempt at trying to get out of the mud. They immediately changed my tyre without even asking and even escorted me out to the highway to Edessa, even though it was out of their way.

No one could have asked for better men than those from the Ptolemaida Fire Department. At a time when all hope was lost, and no one wanted to rescue me, these heroes stepped in and saved my life, literally. Please acknowledge, that, knowing a foreign boy was trapped in the middle of nowhere with no one to turn to, these men sprung to and served beyond the call of duty. I feel like such an effort should be shown throughout the nation on the various media channels to show the locals that such heroes exist within their community. Greek hospitality has always existed, but these firefighters have done more than that. They touched the soul of someone today.

Attached are a few pictures of the rescue, and also of the gentlemen who had saved me last night.

Regards,

Gordon Cheong