Firefighters

Documentary story about firefighters – brave people who are truly modern heroes, who struggle with everyday difficulties that life brings. This is a series of photos I did with the same shift for three months in an attempt to complete the story for my graduation thesis in photography at the Faculty of Applied Arts in 2010. At that time I had a Canon 30D camera and although I was expecting some accident to happen, firefighters often joked that I was a “lucky break” because the other shifts had a lot of work, and since I showed up, they didn’t stress much. I only had a little material for my thesis after three months, but in the meantime, we became friends forever.

These photos depict the heroic Belgrade firefighters, brave people who face incredible challenges. In Belgrade, firefighters work long 12-hour shifts as they face danger, death, and the unexpected each day. They come from many backgrounds and have the most unusual life stories. I followed them for four months, documenting the waiting and the action, to find out what makes a man get up every morning to do a job with low pay and little recognition. I witnessed powerful bonds of friendship and trust, forged in danger and stress, that unite them into a remarkable team of professionals.

I would like to express my gratitude to the First Troop of Fire Brigade Belgrade and their commander Zoran Stojcic. Their courage and faith are an example to all of us.