December 10, 2010

The death of 16-year-old Elad Rivan in the Carmel Forest fire last week has put the Fire Scouts on the map, piquing the interest of teenagers around the country in what had previously been a relatively unknown organization of volunteer firefighters. In the wake of Rivan\’s tragic death, which occurred as he participated in the effort to rescue those trapped in the prison service bus that went up in flames, the Fire Scouts forum on the Israel Fire and Rescue Services website (www.102.co.il ) was inundated with requests from teenagers to join, prompting forum manager Shlomi Sa\’adon, to post the following statement on Shabbat: \”I see that the whole nation would like to volunteer, and I want to tell you that it\’s very heartwarming. But you have to understand. It\’s not that the fire services don\’t want you, but a volunteer has to take a basic course. If you think we will send you into an inferno like this without prior training, you are wrong. This is not some Lag Ba\’omer bonfire. This is real fire, which kills, burns, scorches and consumes everything in its path, so we\’re sorry.\”\n