Left the Christmas party to rescue people
The daughters have grown up with their parents having to jumpt to the rescue regardless of the situation. Photo/Sent to mbl.is
When the weather is bad, as it was around Christmas, most people find it best to be inside and keep it cozy. But then there are the others who throw everything away, whether it is Christmas dinner, a concert, a sports practice or a nice family time, to go out into the storm and help those who have been caught struggling in the storm, even after ignoring warnings and ignoring road closures.
The couple Magnús Ingi Gunnarsson and Harpa Sif Þorsteinsdóttir are both members of the rescue team Dagrenningur in Hvolsvöllur, but Þorsteinsdóttir is the chairperson of the team. They are always ready when the call comes in, but they also have two young daughters who have to go to their grandparents while their parents are doing rescue work.
The daughters tagged along
On Christmas morning, they both went on a call because of the weather and they took the girls to the scene to begin with.
“There was a call at nine in the morning to man a closing post for the road to the east of Markarfljót. We immediately answered a call and took the little girls with us because, as it turns out, it’s difficult to man a job at Christmas,” Magnús tells mbl.is.
"They were just sitting in the car and felt it was very exciting to be allowed to get in a rescue vehicle," he added.
They were at the closing post for a few hours, but because the road was well closed they were allowed, in agreement with the Icelandic Road Administration, to go home for a Christmas party at noon.
“We had been there for a short time when we received news that people were not respecting our closures. So our Christmas party was cut short, and we barely made finishing our lunch, fortunately, because there was no more food around that day. There was no time.”
The mission took hours
So off the couple went again, but this time the daughters did not go along, as it was clear that the tasks ahead of them were considerably more complex and difficult than the tasks they had performed that morning.
The amount of snow over Christmas was such that many people got stuck and needed assistance. Photo/Landsbjörg Rescue Team
“We answer a call and go back. We left our girls at the Christmas party, and it ends up being hours of work. People had been going onto closed roads ignoring the signs. Then the police came and took over the closing post so we could start assisting people who had gone in before the closing, trying to get to their accommodations.”
However, Magnús stated that not everyone they helped disregarded the closures. Some of the people were coming from hotels within the closed area and not aware of the situation.
“It ended with our girls having to have a Christmas sleep-over with family since we were working late into the night.”
Can’t wait to participate
Magnús says they are lucky that their daughters have good grandparents in the area, who are very helpful and have looked after the girls when their parents are called into a rescue task.
It doesn’t happen often, though, that they both go on call, they try to split it up among themselves. “More often I go to the scene and she does the regional management,” Magnús explains.
The girls are used to mom and dad getting calls to go out and help others, and Magnús says that they are excited to be able to participate. “They know nothing else and are eagerly awaiting the time to be here too. Though they are young, their interest is great. They get to participate with us. They help prepare fireworks sales and repair cars. They get involved in a lot of things,” Magnús says.
With a good team everything is possible
But the task of the last few days, apart from rescuing people, has been precisely to prepare fireworks, because at this time of year, all rescue teams make most of their income by selling fireworks for New Year’s Eve.
"We managed to organize the sale with other jobs last night, so it will be opened today."
Magnús admits, however, that getting ready to go to the fireworks sale just after performing strenuous tasks at Christmas was a little difficult.
“You might not be quite ready to start the fireworks sale, but with a good crowd, it alls works out,” says Magnús, but the fireworks sales of the Rescue team Dagrenning at Hvolsvöllur startsat 4 PM today and lasts until 4 PM on New Year’s Day.
