Olive groves turned to ash, he swallowed his tears and carried water to the fire

In the forest fire that has been ongoing for about 20 hours in İnlice Neighborhood, Fethiye district of Muğla, the sacrifice shown by a 76-year-old cancer patient became a hope amid the flames. The elderly man whose olive groves, the fruit of years of labor, turned to ash in the fire, set aside his pain and has been carrying water to the fire zone for hours with a system he established himself.

Nazmi Kundakçı, a native of İnlice Neighborhood and a 76-year-old cancer patient receiving treatment, did not return home from the moment the fire started. Seeing the flames engulfing his village and olive groves, Kundakçı rolled up his sleeves wondering, "What can I do?"
By blocking the front of a stream bed with stones to create a small water pool, Kundakçı started filling tractors with water using the pump system he set up and the hoses he pulled. Tractors going back and forth to the fire line delivered the water prepared by the elderly man to the teams fighting the flames. Working without sleep for about 18 hours, Kundakçı provided uninterrupted support to the firefighting efforts with the system he established on his own.

Despite his pain, Nazmi Kundakçı, who did not give up the struggle, described his sacrifice with these words:
"I have been here since the fire started. I thought I had to do something. I blocked the front of the stream, pulled a hose, and installed a pump. I filled the tractors with water and had them carry it to the fire area uphill. My olive groves also burned. I wanted to help this way."

In the fire where forest workers from Muğla mainly as well as from Aydın, İzmir, Denizli, and Afyonkarahisar fought shoulder to shoulder with the flames throughout the night, Nazmi Kundakçı's silent struggle was also praised. Some held hoses, some went into the flames; the 76-year-old cancer patient Kundakçı brought life to the fire line with the system he set up with his own hands.

On one hand, watching his years of labor in the olive groves turn to ashes, and on the other, tirelessly working so that not a single tree would burn more, Nazmi Kundakçı was etched in memories as one of the unsung heroes of the fire in Fethiye. His struggle amid the flames became one of the strongest symbols of human solidarity amidst disaster.