61 years have passed since the Vajont catastrophe. A disaster that shocked the whole of Italy. On October 9, a gigantic landslide broke away from Mount Toc and fell into the waters of the Vajont dam. The fall generated a shock wave that razed the towns of Longarone, Rivalta, Pirago, Villanova, Faè, Erto, Casso and Castellavazzo to the ground during the night.
The Vajont tragedy: 2,500 deaths
Nothing remained but piles of rubble and mud under which 2,500 people lost their lives. Within a few hours, volunteers, firefighters and soldiers arrived at the site of the tragedy. Among them there was also a young firefighter from Piacenza. His name is Roberto Porcari and today, in the Strada Val Nure barracks, he received a plaque of merit for “having acted with an extraordinary spirit of sacrifice, self-sacrifice, generosity and admirable human sensitivity, contributing to the rescue of the affected populations”.
“I entrusted myself to the Lord”
“I remember the many deaths we had to recover – the words of Porcari, a retired firefighter who was only twenty years old at the time of the Vajont disaster –. It was impossible to be prepared for a catastrophe of this magnitude. I entrusted myself to the Lord.” The certificate was delivered to Roberto Porcari by the commander of the Piacenza fire brigade, Pier Nicola Dadone. “A ceremony that highlights the mental and physical effort of firefighters during extremely demanding operations – the commander’s comment -. It is important to remember these interventions and these tragedies, because they are part of the history of our country and therefore of the history of the firefighters.”
“The Vajont tragedy was the first major announced catastrophe, in which private interests prevailed over the safety and life of communities – the conclusion of Marco Simoni, president of the association of retired firefighters of Piacenza –. We applaud the performance of our firefighter and the hundreds of soldiers and volunteers who had to intervene in a valley where death prevailed over life.”
