Recently, Jiangmen in Guangdong Province was hit by its heaviest rainfall event so far this year. In Taishan and other areas, daily rainfall exceeded 250 millimeters, reaching the threshold for extraordinary torrential rain. On the evening of May 20th, floodwaters kept rising in Langxi village, Baisha town, Taishan city, where the situation was most critical. The Jiangmen-based team of the Guangzhou Fire and Rescue Mobile Detachment was dispatched immediately. Braving the downpour and wading through floodwaters, rescuers made repeated trips to evacuate residents, bringing the entire village to safety on a stormy night.

The Guangzhou Fire and Rescue Mobile Detachment, officially inaugurated in February this year, is a newly established force. On May 29th, reporters visited its Jiangmen-based team to learn more about the rescue operation that night.

The operation was commanded on site by Wang Bo, head of the Jiangmen-based team. Recalling the emergency that night, he said the scene remained vivid in his mind: floodwater on the main road had reached a depth of 1.5 meters and was still rising, cutting off traffic; many homes were inundated, leaving residents trapped inside.

After arriving with his team, Wang decided to carry out the search and rescue operation by assigning one village official familiar with local roads and three rescuers to each assault boat. The village officials led the way, while firefighters carried out the evacuations, giving priority to the elderly, pregnant women and others with limited mobility.

Wang said the rescue faced three major difficulties. First, lighting conditions at the scene were poor, as power had been cut in the village for safety reasons. Second, the floodwater was deep, and the conditions beneath the water were unclear, making it difficult for assault boats to pass through some areas. Third, some elderly residents needed wheelchairs, stretchers and other equipment to be moved, adding to the difficulty of the operation.

At the scene, an elderly couple was in particular danger. The wife had an eye disease, while her husband had been bedridden for years and was unable to move on his own. Chen Shenchuan, a firefighter with the Jiangmen-based team who was born in 2000, and several other team members volunteered to take on the toughest tasks."There were many submerged ditches, raised ridges and other uneven spots in the floodwater, so someone had to push the assault boat into deeper water," Chen said."I'm a strong swimmer, so I took on the job."

What Chen remembers most from the rescue was what the elderly woman said after she and her husband were safely brought ashore, "Thank you. Without you, we might not have made it out." Her  words gave him a deeper sense of the meaning of being a firefighter. "When the people need us, we should be the ones rushing forward," he said.

That night happened to be Chen's 26th birthday. After the rescue was completed in the early hours of May 21st, he reposted a related news report on WeChat Moments and wrote,"Happy 26th birthday to myself."

According to Wang, the rescue operation lasted from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., during which 80 trapped residents were safely evacuated.

台山暴雨夜，他们救出整村人

前不久，广东江门遭遇今年以来最强降雨过程，台山等地日降水量突破250毫米，达到特大暴雨级别。5月20日晚，江门台山市白沙镇郎溪村的积水水位不断上涨，险情最为严重。广州消防救援机动支队江门驻防队伍（以下简称“江门驻防队伍”）紧急出动，冒雨蹚水，一趟趟转移群众，在暴雨夜里救出整村人。

据悉，广州消防救援机动支队（以下简称“支队”）是今年2月挂牌的队伍。5月29日，记者走进江门驻防队伍，进一步了解洪涝当晚的救援细节。

本次救援行动由江门驻防队伍负责人王博现场指挥。回忆当晚险情，他依旧印象深刻：主干道积水深达1.5米，且仍在上涨，道路通行中断；不少民房被淹，群众被困家中。

王博率队抵达后，决定采取“每艘冲锋舟配备一名熟悉路况的村干部和三名救援人员”的模式展开搜救，由村干部引路、消防员实施转运，优先转运老人、孕妇等行动不便人员。

王博坦言救援存在三大难点：一是现场照明条件差，为安全起见村里已断电；二是积水较深，水下情况不明，部分区域冲锋舟难以通行；三是部分被困老人需要轮椅、担架等装备辅助转运，难度较大。

救援现场，一对高龄夫妇处境尤为危险：阿婆患有眼疾，老伴常年卧床无法自主行动。“00后”江门驻防队伍消防员陈沈传等队员主动冲锋在前：“当时积水里有很多凸起的沟坎，需要有人把冲锋舟推到深水区。我水性比较好，就接下了这个任务。”

这次救援让陈沈传久久不能忘怀的是，当两位老人被成功转运上岸后，阿婆对他说：“谢谢你们，如果没有你们，我们可能就出不来了。”这句话让他更加感受到消防员这份职业的意义。“群众需要我们 ，我们就应该冲上去。”

那一夜，恰好是陈沈传26岁的生日。5月21日凌晨完成救援后，他在朋友圈转发了相关新闻报道，并写道：祝自己26岁生日快乐。

据王博介绍，这次救援从晚上9点持续至凌晨1点，累计安全转移80名受困群众。

统筹｜丰西西
文 | 记者 郭思琦
图 | 记者 周巍
翻译丨郑奕玲
审校丨曾敏