As war continues to ravage the Gaza Strip, firefighters have played a large role in the conflict. Though the Israeli Fire Service is still in its infancy, their officers have been tasked with maintaining the safety of Israeli citizens at a critical time in the country’s history. While explosions boom along the southern border, close enough to see with the naked eye, seemingly unphased firefighters remain steadfast in fulfilling their duties. Halfway around the world, the Beverly Hills Fire Department (BHFD) knew they had to help. With funding from the Beverly Hills Fire Department Foundation—namely Board Chair Marc Ackerman and Board Member Dr. William Binder—a team of four firefighters made their way to Israel to learn, educate and offer resources. But what they believe will stick with them the most as they continue to serve Beverly Hills, is the empathy they gained by learning to walk in someone else’s shoes.
BHFD arrived in Israel on Sept. 2 and returned home on Sept. 10. Over a seven-day period, they fostered new relationships with the Israeli Fire Service, visited Beverly Hills’ sister city, Herzliya, attended a meeting with the Fire Department Command Team and watched a presentation on the Emergency Command Center. After learning about the responsibilities of firefighters in Israel, BHFD shared information about their efficiency practices and their responsibility to be medically trained as well. The main goal was to exchange ideas so that both fire departments can learn from each other. “We went to Israel, and we shared with them the idea of a dual function firefighter,” Deputy Fire Chief Alfred Poirier told the Courier. “The idea that not only is it more economically feasible, but from an operational perspective, having a fire department that provides medical services and has medical training as well is probably a better option.”
Poirier also mentioned that the Israeli Fire Service uses technology that BHFD could potentially adopt in the distant future, such as different variations of aerial platform ladders and a self-contained breathing apparatus, which are safer and more effective than the equipment used in the United States.
During the trip, BHFD toured multiple sites to learn about Israel’s long history of religious conflict, including Apollonia National Park (Tel Arshaf) in Herzliya, the Israel Museum, 9/11 Living Memorial, the Old City, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mount of Olives, Masada, the Dead Sea and Yad Vashem (the World Holocaust Remembrance Center) in Jerusalem. They explored Tel Aviv, Netanya and Caesarea, and spent a full day exploring the Gaza Envelope area. It was in this region, at the memorial site for the Nova Music Festival victims, that really struck them. “You could hear the explosions very, very close,” said Poirier. “For us, it was alarming. We were very unnerved by it, but one of our observations was that the vast majority of people who were there visiting were locals, and they didn’t react at all. The four of us firefighters—we jumped every time there was an explosion. There were several of them that were on the Gaza side of the border.”
Understanding the stark contrast in everyday life from one fire department to another was a key takeaway of the trip. BHFD’s time in Israel reminded them of the importance of empathy, said Poirier.
“It’s incredibly important for us to have emotional intelligence as firefighters and as medical service providers in the community,” said Poirier. “Empathy is a key component of emotional intelligence, and empathy involves trying your best to walk in somebody else’s shoes. And traveling to this part of the world and immersing yourself in that culture and at least trying to have some better understanding of the conflicts that have been going on there for hundreds of years allows for our empathy to evolve and allows us to hopefully better serve the community where we’re firefighters.”
