Photo: Pakutaso
national

Fire chief in Akita Prefecture starts forest fire trying to scare away wasp

14 Comments
By SoraNews24

Firefighters are true heroes that deserve our eternal respect and appreciation, and yet they are also human and as such are prone to errors in judgment like any of us. Even starting a brushfire, which is probably the absolute last mistake we’d expect from a firefighter, has been known to happen and just did recently in Akita Prefecture.

On May 7, at about 1:25 p.m., the chief of the Akita Prefecture Kazuno Wide-Area Administrative Union Fire Department was out clearing land by his parents’ home in Kazuno city. Suddenly, he was confronted by several insects which reports refer to as hachi, a Japanese word that can encompass all kinds of yellowy, stingy bugs from humble bumble bees to terrifying murder hornets.

The encounter spooked him enough to pull out a road flare and light it to ward off the flying beasts. After throwing the flare at the bugs in self-defense, it landed in a pile of dry grass and ignited it.

Luckily, a high-ranking firefighter was already at the scene and called for backup. However, by the time three fire engines and 11 other firefighters arrived, about 45 square meters of grass and trees were already engulfed in flames. 

It took about 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze, but luckily no one was injured and there was no serious damage to property. In a press conference on May 9, the chief apologized, saying: “I am very sorry that I started a fire, having just called on residents to be careful not to start wildfires.”

▼ The fire chief’s public apology

Many comments online seemed to appreciate the rich irony of the whole situation, but some took a sterner stance.

“Oops.”

“That’s really basic safety. He should resign for something like that.”

“It’s like a comedy sketch.”

“When I saw this on the news, I knew it was wrong to laugh, but I did.”

“This is the time of year that the giant hornets build their nests.”

“But did he kill the bugs?”

“Maybe, I don’t know, keep a can of bug spray when going into the brush?”

“It wasn’t that big of an area anyway.”

Indeed, the damage was very limited and the fact he will absolutely never live this down with everyone at the fire department ought to be a suitable punishment. It also serves as a reminder to the rest of us, that fires can happen anywhere and to anyone if not careful, so please stay safe out there!

Sources: Akita Sakigake ShimpoFNNHachima Kiko

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Honey with Hornets from Japan is exactly what it sounds like【Photos】

-- Hornets: The perfect pet for people living in Japan?

-- Japanese firefighters show off the awesome ninja skills we never realized they had 【Video】

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

14 Comments
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Rather than a ‘stock photo’ of what appears to be some arbitrarily chosen grass & trees distorting and/or camouflaging what could have been a real public concern, would like to have seen the actualforest” he’s alleged to have set fire.

- “…clearing land by his parents’ home in Kazuno city…, a high-ranking firefighter was already at the scene and called for backup… and there was no serious damage to property.” -

6 ( +7 / -1 )

In the words of Harvey Dent: “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Poor man, a life’s work & career, unselfishly putting himself in harm’s way in service to the community then, to be put to shame even after a sincere public repentance for an obviously overblown mistake. No thanks to multiple J media for their contributions to shame him here even further.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Well at least he was able to contact his co-workers immediately and extinguish the fire which apparently was spreading rapidly.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

 45 square meters of grass and trees

This shouldn't even be news.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Agree with most. Its not a big deal. no need to bite the man's head off.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

45 m2 - about the size of my LDK area.

Comedy Gold.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Yes, deep inside their mind they not only dream of extinguishing but also like to ignite and play with fires. It’s their chosen profession for that reason and there are many similar cases out there, also the most obvious ones bringing it into the news headlines. One could say, it’s the normal case, not the exemption. Look, IT professionals love computers, patisserie chefs like tarts and cakes and now guess what firemen like most of all…

1 ( +2 / -1 )

We might soon hear: Firebug bugged by bug fired.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Just for a wasp? Now if it’s for a spider, maybe.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

If it scared away the wasp then I'd say mission accomplished.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Weirdo

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

After throwing the flare at the bugs in self-defense,

…….how big were these bugs?

Did he think they wouldn’t fly away faster than he could Throw?

> it landed in a pile of dry grass and ignited it.

not predictable at all…..

three fire engines and 11 other firefighters arrived

people talking about how it’s not a big fire or big deal. But idk that sounds like a lot of man power, gas and energy to use, all because of a few bugs?

the chief of the Akita Prefecture Kazuno Wide-Area Administrative Union Fire Department

first off, very fake name for a fire department unit.

second, time for this hack to hang it up. He’s lost it.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

How he has job. He was clearing land. I have many bees and hornets in and outside my house. You just stand still and they go away. You throw burning fire flares at them, of course they will become angry. And who carries road flares when cutting grass? Darwin Award.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

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