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Fighting forest firesPaths to safetyThe mountains around Salamanca are high, steep and full of dry pine treesthat catch fire very easily. This is difficult terrain for fire-fighters, but noproblem for the Mercedes-Benz Unimog.The Unimog’s engine runs smoothly as thefour-wheel-drive vehicle moves down therough slope. “Whatever happens, this vehiclewill always do the job!” say the driverproudly, shifting down to the next lower gear.Like the legs of a large insect, the tyres creepacross the rocks, each block of their treadsfighting for grip with the thrust of 4,000litres of water to withstand. At one bend, aman with three days of beard stubble, wearinga helmet and neck protection, raises hishand to indicate that the vehicle is stabledespite the 20-degree slope on which it isstanding. His name is Joaquín Cascales andhe is the fire brigade commander. Hiscommands are short: “Vamos!”, “Let’s go!”,“Grab the hoses!”. The firemen open the rearflap and pull a 600-metre hose off the reel.“How far are you?”, a voice asks through thewalkie-talkie hanging from Joaquín Cascales’shoulders. “We’re in a good position,” heanswers. Everything is going according to20 Unimog 1|2003