2nd firefighter in the Beja Fire Department, it was in the barracks that there are 20 years Adelino Gonçalves gained a taste for chimney sweep activity.
Name: Adelino Gonçalves, Age: 42 year old
Profession: Fireman and Chimney Sweep
Birth and Residence: Beja
It was inside the Beja Volunteer Fire Station that Adelino Gonçalves gained the taste of being a chimney sweep, while on 1999 started to help Mário Sarabando, a firefighter colleague, who did this service. Next year, when your colleague retired, Adelino "inherited" the responsibility to do the job alone.
2nd firefighter, came to the corporation there 23 year old, having between 2010 and 2018 been responsible for kinotechnical operations, date Romeo, your faithful search and rescue friend died. Over the eight years, the duo participated in five people search operations, one of which was found to be in good health and two already dead.
His profession as a firefighter combines with the activity of chimney sweeps and one of Adelino Gonçalves' functions is to provide advice to homeowners, since the lack of regular chimney cleaning increases the risk of fire.
When there is a fire in an older dwelling, one of the operational concerns "is to understand if the one started with the chimney, for lack of cleanliness or another cause that could have been avoided ”, justified.
But in 20 years a lot has changed in the chimney sweep activity. “Before, we used to lower ropes with net bags to clean the soot, now we work with metal rods with steel brushes. The only thing that remains is the dirt and black of the soot ”, says.
In many regions of the country, even in the most modern buildings there are chimneys, because many fireplaces or stoves continue to be installed, but in Portugal “there is no legislation that requires the cleaning of the chimneys of buildings, but it is a structure that requires special attention ”, accentuates Adelino. “There should be certification as there is for natural gas or energy. In France cleaning is mandatory 2 in 2 years", ends.
Made at different times, because "I don't mix mumps with swelling", says smiling, justifying that the activities of firefighters and chimney sweeps complement each other. “The main thing is to make an effective service and realize that after an intervention in the structure, the house is safe and that the danger of fire has gone away”, supports.
But behind the cleaning there are hilarious stories and Adelino Gonçalves already takes some to tell. “In the so-called horse neck (fireplaces drawer) I already found books, dolls and cars. When they catch open fireplaces, children have a tendency to peek and in their antics leave everything there, that afterwards they can no longer remove and do not tell their parents ”, but also in the kitchen chimney “I took a dozen pigeons”, remember to smile.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
