International Firefighters' Day - May 4th

Firefighters are the people who protect us and fight for us in one of nature's most powerful elements - fire.

To be a firefighter means to be a person who risks his life for the sake of people he does not know, for the sake of animals, for the sake of forests, houses and the whole environment in which we live.

To be a firefighter one must first be very brave, because firefighters climb to heights, enter burning places, fly in firefighting helicopters in extremely dangerous conditions and sometimes do not sleep nights and whole days.

The history of firefighters' day

The first professionals whose job was to fight fires lived in ancient Egypt. At the time, firefighters worked for private companies and provided their services only to those who could afford them.

Later, in ancient Rome, Emperor Augustus turned the fire brigade into a trained force and received equipment and a salary from the country. These people were called firemen, they were part of the Vigiles force, the Roman force composed of the firefighters and policemen of ancient Rome.

Firefighters Day was created in 1999, after the deaths of 5 firefighters tragically during a huge fire in Australia where the wind direction suddenly changed and surrounded them with flames. This day is celebrated on May 4 because it is also St. Florian's Day among Christians, named after St. Florian who was one of the firefighters in the first battalion in ancient Rome who saved the lives of many people, and is considered a saint and patron of firefighters.

How to Celebrate Firefighters' Day

It's today to say thank you to all the firefighters who are saving so many lives.

Even on ordinary days, we seem to have forgotten to thank the wonderful and brave people, who do sacred work even though we do not feel.

People who are willing to sacrifice their lives to save others. People for whom the good of others comes before their personal good.

Not only when firefighters are called firefighters, but also when trapped under the rubble of buildings, when falling into pits, in road accidents when trapped in vehicles and in other unpleasant cases.

So because your contribution is so prominent, with whole days spent putting out fires, it's time to say thank you!

May 4 is both Anti-Bullying Day and Star Wars Day

Richter Scale Day - April 26th

Every year, on April 26, Richter Scale Day is celebrated. This day honors the birth of the inventor of the Richter scale, Charles P. Richter (April 26, 1900 - September 30, 1985).

Richter was an American seismologist and physicist famous for inventing the Richter scale, the scale that quantifies the magnitude of earthquakes. While working at the California Institute of Technology, along with Beno Gutenberg, Richter first used his scale in 1935.

After the Richter scale was published in 1935, it immediately became the standard measure of earthquake strength. There are now more modern methods of measuring the magnitude of earthquakes, but the intensity index is still referred to by the public as the Richter scale.

10 most powerful earthquakes ever recorded:

Location	Date	Power on the Richter scale
Chile	May 22, 1960	9.5
Prince William Sound, Alaska	March 28, 1964	9.2
Andrinoff Islands, Aleutian Islands	March 9, 1957	9.1
Japan	March 11, 2011	9.0
Kamchatka	November 4, 1952	9.0
The west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia	December 26, 2004	9.0
Some distance from the coast of Ecuador	January 31, 1906	8.8
Chile	February 27, 2010	8.8
Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands	February 4, 1965	8.7
North Sumatra, Indonesia	March 28, 2005	8.7

April 26 is also Chernobyl Memorial Day

International Day for Disaster Reduction- 13 October

"Traditional and local knowledge is the essential information base for many societies seeking to live in harmony with nature and adapt to disruptive events of weather, global warming and rising sea levels." ~ UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) is designed to encourage every citizen and government to take part in building communities and peoples more resilient to natural disasters.  

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The UN General Assembly declared October 13 as the International Day for the Reduction of Natural Disasters in 2009. The activities promoted by this day are prevention, preparedness and reduction.

Natural disasters can be floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, strong storms and other natural phenomena that cause destruction.

While we do not have control over natural disasters because they usually happen by force majeure, it is important first of all to save the planet, because global warming causes disasters, and we can also prepare for cases where God forbid something happens. We can develope and use early warning systems, build stronger buildings and more.

Link to UN's International Day for Disaster Reduction page.

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October 13 is also National Day Without Bra