The whole story began in 1979, when a flood hit Żuławy. Bolesławiec resident Jan Kunicki, then an employee of the State Machine Center, decided to help flood victims free of charge. “Seeing the drama of the residents of those areas, I came up with the idea of constructing a tractor-mounted pumping unit that could reach even places where a fire engine would be unable to go,” Mr. Jan recalls. “It is absurd for firefighters to drive out to pump water from a chicken coop. That is a waste of money. The situation would look completely different if there were at least one such unit in every village.”
Mr. Jan tried to interest the POM in Bolesławiec in his idea, and later the District Club for Progress and Rationalization in Agriculture, based in Poznań. Without success.
He returned to the matter in 1997, when another wave of flooding swept across Poland. “I knew I could help; I did not want to simply stand by,” the Bolesławiec resident stresses. He informed the government representative responsible for removing the effects of the flood. There was no response.
“Floods have happened, are happening and will happen. We have no influence over when they arrive,” says the inventor. “This summer I helped a family in Chmielno. They had one flood at night, cleaned up the house, and another wave came the next day. It is difficult even to describe. Within two or three minutes, the water rose by 10 cm. Bailing it out with a bucket in such a situation is not very effective. And yet we can be better prepared to fight floods.”
Mr. Jan’s tractor-mounted pumping unit has many advantages: it is inexpensive, easy to operate and efficient. “It fits any tractor,” the inventor assures us. “This solution is intended directly for farmers and municipal utility companies.”
Seeing the officials’ inertia, Mr. Jan built a prototype of the pumping unit himself in 2000. The invention was first started up on the premises of a PSP unit in Bolesławiec. The unit received a positive opinion from the Scientific and Research Center for Fire Protection in Józefów near Otwock. The press wrote extensively about the Bolesławiec inventor. It seemed that this time someone would take an interest in the pump. However, things turned out differently. “All the provincial Crisis Management Departments received the relevant letters; only three out of sixteen replied,” says Mr. Jan, with regret in his voice.
Local governments and the Sejm completely disregarded the matter. “I did not expect the authorities to show such a great lack of responsibility,” the Bolesławiec resident admits. “In a conversation with one of the village heads, I heard that if the municipality ordered these pumps, it would have to disband the Volunteer Fire Brigade. That is faulty reasoning. I appeal to officials to think it over once again.”
Mr. Jan gave his word that he would help flood victims. And he kept it. In 2009, he donated his invention to Żórawina Municipality in Wrocław County. In August last year, he received thanks from Mayor Jan Żukowski, who wrote: “Żórawina Municipal Office would like to sincerely thank Mr. Jan Kunicki for the assistance provided during the flood situation […]. The loaned water-pumping equipment became an additional force in the fight against the dangerous natural disaster. The simple construction and ease of operation of the pumping unit make it a widely used device for removing the effects of floods and more.” “We spend fortunes on foreign equipment,” the inventor points out. “Meanwhile, we have a simple and inexpensive solution in our own country. The only problem is that nobody wants to take an interest in it,” he adds. We will return to the matter.
(information ii)