Pelin Parlak, who works at the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Fire Brigade Department, was among the first team to participate in the search and rescue efforts in Antakya after the earthquake. Brilliant said, “When you witness what the people there are going through, you cannot keep things going in the normal course of life. Maybe he shouldn't. I am no longer the same Pelin. We will get out of the rubble together," he said.
Pelin Parlak, a firefighter of 11 years in Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department, worked in Hatay Antakya, which was hit by the earthquake. One of the two female personnel in the first search and rescue team that went to the region right after the disaster, 31-year-old Parlak told about his 8-day tenure with tears. Having experienced emotional moments in the face of what he witnessed and having difficulty putting those moments into words, Parlak said, “I don't think the people who go there and come will be the same person again. Emotionally, we went through a lot of different things. I am no longer the same Wormwood,” she said.
They reached earthquake victims in the wreckage
Pelin Parlak, mother of a 3,5-year-old daughter, said, “When we went to the region, we immediately started search and rescue efforts. Our work intensified in the place where the slightest sound was heard. Our goal was to save someone alive from the rubble. We wanted to be able to touch someone else, to hear someone's voice and help them. There were also some that we reached from the Enkas and took them out safely," he said.
“We all did our best”
Explaining that they had a very difficult time, Parlak said, “There were constant aftershocks, we experienced the second biggest earthquake there. It was a risky environment. While we were working, we were nervous, but we tried to ensure our own safety and remove the debris as quickly as possible. None of us thought, 'Something will happen to me here', everyone did their best," he said.
“Despite everything, we will continue to work”
Emphasizing that she witnessed things she had never experienced in Antakya, Pelin Parlak said: “After what we experienced in Hatay and the disaster we witnessed, I realized that when I returned to İzmir, I started to experience anxiety. I have a daughter, I'm starting to worry about her too. Despite everything, we will continue to work. We are now focused on what we can do as a team, and on the training we need to take to become professional in order to help more people in possible earthquakes.”
“We will rise from the wreckage together”
Brilliant, who was often emotional while describing his experiences, said, “In Hatay, people were waiting for their relatives by lighting a fire at the head of the rubble. Those who were waiting for their relatives to be rescued from the wreckage were more fortified than we were. They helped us a lot. Indeed, we all made a superhuman effort, but I wish we could have done more. I wished there were two of me to interfere with someone else, to change someone's life again. It was the first disaster I took on such a large scale after the Izmir earthquake. So it's in a separate spot. I had the opportunity to touch many people there. When you witness what the people there are going through, you cannot keep things going in the normal course of life. Maybe he shouldn't. We will get out of the rubble together," he said.
After the earthquake, approximately 300 personnel from the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Fire Brigade Department worked in the region. Some of the firefighters are still on duty.