Great loss for the community of Riva del Garda: Gianfranco Sartorelli, 84 years old, a backbone of the Riva del Garda Volunteer Fire Brigade for 43 years, has passed away, so much so that he was amicably called “Grandfather” by everyone. Born in Riva on 17 March 1940, an electrical technician by profession at Amsea, he joined the Fire Brigade in 1981. A solid bond and a constant presence, which saw him hold the position of secretary from 1990 to 2000 when, for having reached the age limit, he left his operational career to become an Honorary Policeman. His aspirations, in over ten years of activity as a Volunteer, all fulfilled, he had expressed in a letter dated 1998: “To see the barracks in Viale Rovereto completed – he wrote with a premonitory look – to bring fire prevention information to schools, to set up a youth team so as to have a replacement in the future. But above all, make the Rivan Fire Brigade known to your community because, he said, “they don’t know what volunteer firefighters are except in times of need”. And also to ensure that the Fire Brigade, in addition to being close-knit in their interventions, were also a group of friends.
After completing his active service, at the beginning of the new millennium he continued to provide his tireless work, assisting the new secretaries who took turns and the new generations of young firefighters who were lucky enough to meet him.
It is thanks to Gianfranco that today the Rivano Corps has a rich and detailed press review which has become part of the historical archive. Finally, he never failed to pin a greeting card to the barracks noticeboard on the occasion of the birthdays of all the Volunteers.
A life spent with his wife Albina Gasperi, who died a few years ago, who always supported and encouraged him in his activity as a volunteer firefighter.
A characteristic that made him unique was that he participated in all the municipal councils of Riva del Garda, a citizen who was attentive to the decisions of the administrators, so much so that he was now nicknamed “Adjunct Councilor”.
The family of the Fire Brigade of Riva del Garda, but also of Trentino, stands firm in the face of his passing and adopts his example of perseverance and self-sacrifice in the service of the Community.
