Leonid Telyatnikov
Leonid Petrovych Telyatnikov (
Early life
Leonid Petrovych Telyatnikov was born on January 25, 1951, in the village of Vvedenka, located in the
Early firefighting career (1968–1986)
In the Kazakh SSR
Telyatnikov enrolled as a cadet in the
In the Ukrainian SSR
In 1982, Telyatnikov moved from Kustanai to
Chernobyl disaster
At the time of the Chernobyl disaster, Telyatnikov, now a Major in the MVD, was vacationing with his wife and children at their dacha outside of Pripyat. He and his wife were awake, waiting for the cold water to come on the tap, when several explosions were heard.[3] Unalarmed, they believed that they had heard the sound of supersonic aircraft passing low overhead, which was a common occurrence in the area.[3] Soon after, at around 01:32 or 01:33 in the morning, Telyatnikov was telephoned by the fire dispatcher, informing him of the accident and summoning him to the power station.[3] Telyatnikov quickly put on his uniform and telephoned the Pripyat Militsiya Station, asking the duty officer there to send a car to take him to the station, which was four or five kilometers from his dacha.[3][4]
Arriving at the station around 1:45 in the morning, Telyatnikov found that the response to the fire had already begun.[4][5] As commander of Paramilitary Fire Brigade No.2, charged with the fire protection of the station, he assumed command of the fire-fighting efforts. One of his first actions was to order a visual survey of the building to determine the locations of the many fires:
- "We surveyed the Unit 4 building. Through holes left by concrete panels smashed out we could see cable rooms, where no fires were observed. However, from the central reactor hall we clearly saw something like a blaze or glow... What was it? There is nothing except the reactor's "top face" in the central room, nothing was expected to burn there. We decided that it was the reactor itself that generated the glow. I called FFU-2 (the fire fighting unit serving the Chernobyl NPP only) and reported the situation for further transmission to Kiev... "[6]
Telyatnikov visited the Unit Four control room, and was told by Deputy Chief Engineer Anatoly Dyatlov that with the fire on the roof of the turbine hall under control, the priority must be the roofs of Unit 3 and the ventilation block.[7] Around 02:30, Telyatnikov ordered three firemen to the roof of the ventilation block to relieve the first group of firefighters which had been fighting the fires ignited there since the beginning of the emergency.[8] This initial group, which included Volodymyr Pravyk, Viktor Kibenok, and Vasily Ignatenko, was already suffering from the effects of radiation exposure and descended the fire escape from the roof with difficulty.[8] After their leader, Lieutenant Pravik, reported to Telyatnikov that the fire on the roof of the power station's third power unit had been extinguished, Telyatnikov, noting that he and the men with him appeared very unwell, ordered them into a nearby ambulance for evacuation to the Pripyat hospital.[9] Soon after, on the south side of the station, Telyatnikov ascended the fire escape to the roof of the turbine hall and ordered firefighters there to maintain a fire watch there until relieved.[10]
By 03:30, Telyatnikov was himself beginning to experience nausea and retching, initial symptoms of radiation exposure.[11] He was evacuated to Sanitary Unit No. 126 – the Pripyat Hospital – around this time.[12] Experiencing only the mild initial effects of radiation exposure, and unaware of the extent of his injuries, he was able to talk, smoke, and walk around with fellow firefighters.[3]
Hospitalisation and recovery
As the extent of the disaster and the severity of the radiological injuries sustained by first responders began to be understood, the decision was made to evacuate Telyatnikov and the other hospitalized firefighters and plant staff to Moscow. By bus to
By this time, Telyatnikov was beginning to suffer from the more severe effects of his radiation exposure. He had lost consciousness in the course of transfer from Pripyat to Kiev by bus, and his condition continued to deteriorate.
However, Telyatnikov did begin to improve. And he was released from the isolation ward and allowed to walk around Hospital No. 6 in July, 1986, on his own, while wearing a gauze mask to protect his lungs from infection.
It is unclear what Telyatnikov's accumulated radiation dose was. Telyatnikov stated in a 1987 interview that it was "somewhere from 200 to 400 rem", but other sources claim that Telyatnikov received a dose of 450 to even 520 rem.[12][15][3]
Post-recovery honours
After his recovery, Telyatnikov was honored in the Soviet media, including a front-page feature in
International goodwill tour
In 1987, following his release from hospital and the completion of his recovery, Telyatnikov was sent on an international goodwill tour. Visiting
Post-Chernobyl career (1986–1995)
Following his recovery and the end of his international tour, Telyatnikov returned to work in the Fire Department as commander of an MVD fire test laboratory.[1] He served in this capacity until 1989.[1] That year he was promoted to become the deputy head of the Regulatory and Technical Department of the Fire Safety Directorate of the Internal Affairs directorate of the Kiev Regional Executive Committee. He would hold this position through the dissolution of the USSR, until 1993.[1]
In newly independent Ukraine, Telyatnikov was promoted to higher positions within the state fire brigade. In 1993, he became the Deputy Head of the Main Fire Directorate of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Ukraine.[1] And in 1995, having attained the rank of Major General, Telyatnikov was promoted to head the State Fire Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, becoming commander of the entire Ukrainian state firefighting apparatus.[1][2] Telyatnikov retired the same year.[1]
Post-retirement activities and death
Following his retirement, Telyatnikov remained active in firefighting as the chairman of the Kyiv Volunteer Firefighting Society from 1998.[1] In this capacity he was responsible for organizing an annual children's firefighting festival, which would continue to be held after his death, and was subsequently rededicated in his honor.[3] In 1996, by order of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Telyatnikov was awarded the Ukrainian Order for Courage, 3rd class.[1]
In 2003, Telyatnikov was diagnosed with cancer of the jaw.[3][17] Invited to receive free treatment in Germany, he traveled to the country and underwent six months of treatment, including two operations.[3] Though doctors were optimistic that he would recover, the cancer returned in the fall of 2004, and Teylatnikov died on December 2 of that year, at age 53.[17]
His death was publicized by news agencies and his family received a letter of condolences from President Vladimir Putin of Russia.[3]
See also
- Deaths due to the Chernobyl disaster
- Liquidator (Chernobyl)
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Kinzhakov, Ivan Vladimirovich. "Telyatnikov Leonid Petrovich". Patriotic Project “Heroes of the Country”. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "Telyatnikov Leonid Petrovich: Hero of the Soviet Union, Veteran of Chernobyl". Пожарно-техническая выставка: Виртуальный интерактивный обучающий комплекс. ВДПО. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
{{cite web}}
: Check|url=
value (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rybinskaya, Irina. "Non-Heroic Hero". FACTS. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9781541617087.
- ^ Svetlov, Andrei (February 5, 2006). "Firefighters Against the Atom. How it Was". NuclearNo.ru. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ISBN 978-966-7853-00-6.
- ^ Plokhy (2018), p. 107
- ^ ISBN 9781501134616.
- ^ Plokhy (2018), p. 95
- ^ Karplan (2012), p. 16
- ^ Plokhy (2018), p. 97
- ^ a b c d e f "Firefight at Chernobyl". omeka.net. Baltimore, MD: Fire Files Digital Library. 17 September 1987. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ^ Higgenbotham (2019), p. 151
- ^ a b c d Higgenbotham (2019), p. 300
- ^ "Telyatnikov, Leonid Petrovich". Book of Memory: Participants in the Liquidation of the Chernobyl Accident (in Ukrainian). National Chornobyl Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ a b Higgenbotham (2019), p. 307
- ^ a b Higgenbtham (2019), p. 334
General sources
- Kinzhakov, Ivan Vladimirovich. "Telyatnikov Leonid Petrovich". Patriotic Project “Heroes of the Country”. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- "Telyatnikov Leonid Petrovich: Hero of the Soviet Union, Veteran of Chernobyl". Пожарно-техническая выставка: Виртуальный интерактивный обучающий комплекс. ВДПО. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- Rybinskaya, Irina. "Non-Heroic Hero". FACTS. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- "Telyatnikov, Leonid Petrovich". Book of Memory: Participants in the Liquidation of the Chernobyl Accident (in Ukrainian). National Chornobyl Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- Svetlov, Andrei (February 5, 2006). "Firefighters Against the Atom. How it Was". NuclearNo.ru. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- Plokhy, Serhii (2020). Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 9781541617087.
- Higgenbotham, Adam (2019). Midnight in Chernobyl. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781501134616.
- "Firefight at Chernobyl". omeka.net. Baltimore, MD: Fire Files Digital Library. 17 September 1987. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
External links
- (ua) About awarding with a distinction of the President of Ukraine - a ‘cross for courage’, President of Ukraine L. Kuchma, April 26, 1996
- (en) Opening of Telyatnikov's monument at Baykove from UNIAN