Viktor Nikolaevich Kibenok (Ukrainian: Віктор Миколайович Кібенок, Russian: Виктор Николаевич Кибенок; 17 February 1963 – 11 May 1986) was a Chernobyl firefighter who was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union after he died of radiation sickness.[1]
Kibenok was born into a family of firefighters, his father and his grandfather were both firemen. He would sometimes go with his father to emergencies and watch. This is presumably when he found his love for firefighting. He graduated from Cherkasy Fire And Technical School in August 1984 and was sent to work in Pripyat. He was a Lieutenant and the Chief Guard at Pripyat Fire Station (SPVCH-6).
Kibenok is described as being strong-willed, kind by-nature, a caring man. He also had a love for Motorsports and owned a motorcycle. In his free time he would modify and work on his motorcycle and loved driving it.[2]
He was told of his wife's pregnancy just two days before the accident - the child would later die in labour.[2]
Chernobyl Disaster
Kibenok and his brigade were on duty at the moment of explosion. An alarm came through from Volodymyr Pravyk's brigade, requesting him to send his brigade to the power plant. Kibenok had been told that the roofs of the turbine hall and the third reactor had caught fire. He dispatched a Ural-375 AC-40, two ZIL-130 AC-40s and a ZIL-131 AL-30 mechanical ladder truck.[3]
Kibenok, riding in a ZIL-130,[4] arrived on the southern side of the power plant at around 1:35 AM[4] and his brigade briefly parked their vehicles along the turbine hall. Kibenok met with Pravyk, who told him to take his brigade to the roof of Unit 3 and extinguish the fires there, whilst his brigade extinguished the turbine hall fires. Pravyk volunteered to guide Kibenok and his men to the roof of Unit 3.[3][4]
At around 1:45 AM he ordered his ZIL-131 AL30 ladder truck to relocate to the north side of the plant in order to establish hose lines to the roof of Unit 3.[1] Later, the Ural-375 AC-40 and one ZIL-130 AC-40 were relocated onto the north side of the power plant. The Ural was parked in front of Unit 4's transport corridor, on the train tracks, the ZIL-130 being parked to its left.[3]
Four men were chosen from Kibenok's brigade to climb to the third reactor's roof: Senior Sergeant Vasily Ignatenko, Senior Sergeant Vladimir Tishura, Sergeant Nikolai Vashchuk and Junior Sergeant Nikolai Titenok. Along with Pravyk, the squad of six climbed to the roof of the third reactor from the south, across the turbine hall.[5][3][4]
According to a later report by Leonid Telyatnikov,[6] there were around five small fires on the roof of the third reactor, which were caused by hot pieces of nuclear material igniting the flammable bitumen roof. The roof was also strewn with red-hot graphite blocks and uranium fuel assemblies which were highly radioactive. The squad maneuvered around the roof of Unit 3 and the base of the ventilation chimney, extinguishing various small fires around the roof. The roof was that hot that the bitumen began to melt, and it stuck to Kibenok's boots, making it difficult to move. [3][5]
The radiation began to take its toll though, as at around 2:30 AM Tishura and Vashchuk reportedly collapsed on the roof.[7] The crew began to make their way back down the ladders onto the turbine hall roof. Whilst descending from the roof of Unit 3, Kibenok apparently briefly fell unconscious and had to be assisted down the stairs by Ignatenko, who was also carrying Tishura down the staircase.[2] The men in Pravyk's brigade who were firefighting on the roof of the turbine hall ran over to assist. Piotr Khmel, a driver of one of the fire engines from Kibenok's unit helped him take off his uniform, and stayed with Kibenok and the others until an ambulance arrived.[5]
In the absence of Kibenok's squad, Telyatnikov ordered three men: Zakharov and Petrovsky from CВПЧ-2 (Pravyk's brigade) to stand on firewatch on the reactor roof.[4] Although they soon abandoned their post after Petrovsky reportedly went temporarily blind. Zakharov was reported to have said: "Fuck this! lets get out of here!"[3][5]. Telyatnikov then stayed on the reactor roof himself before succumbing to the early onset of ARS.[3]
Kibenok was taken to Sanitary Unit No.126 (the Pripyat Hospital) along with all of the other first responders and plant workers.[5][3][2]
Hospitalization and death
Kibenok stayed in Sanitary Unit No.126 (the Pripyat Hospital) for one day before the true scale of the accident was realized. He was then transported by air to Moscow Hospital No.6,[2] which specialised in radiology and radiation burns. He had received bitumen burns on the inside of his mouth and his lungs were damaged by inhaling burning bitumen.[2][5] Due to these internal burns, Kibenok couldn't eat and it was extremely painful for him to speak.[2] He had also received severe thermal burns on his legs. By May 9th, Kibenok could no longer stand.[4][2] He died a few days later on May 11th a few hours after his friend Pravyk. Throughout his hospitalization, he remained positive - even after multiple failed skin grafts and a failed bone-marrow transplant. His funeral was held on May 13th.[2]
After his death, Kibenok left behind a wife, and a child. Although the child would later be stillborn.[2] He posthumously received the Hero of The Soviet Union award and the Ukrainian Order For Courage. He has a street named after him in his home city of Ivankov. Kibenok also has numerous monuments, all over the Kiev region, including one at the Cherkasy Fire and Technical School, where he trained to become an officer.[5][1]
^ abcOsovik, Kirill. "Герой Советского Союза Кибенок Виктор Николаевич". warheroes.ru.
^ abcdefghijkAlexievich, Svetlana (2016). Voices from Chernobyl. United Kingdom: Penguin Books. p. 147. ISBN9780241270530.
^ abcdefghiPlokhy, Serhii (2018). Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe. United Kingdom: Penguin Books. p. 91. ISBN978-0141988351.
^ abcdefLeatherbarrow, Andrew (2016). Chernobyl 01:23:40: The Incredible True Story of the World's Worst Nuclear Disaster. United Kingdom: Andrew Leatherbarrow. p. 66. ISBN978-0993597503.
^ abcdefgHigginbotham, Adam (2019). Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster. United Kingdom: Penguin Books. pp. 211–212. ISBN978-0552172899.
^Telyatnikov, Leonid (1987). "Leonid Telyatnikov Official Report". 1: 1 – via Leonid Telyatnikov. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Smale, Alison (16 May 1986). "Komsomolskaya Pravda". p. 1. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
External links
Media related to Viktor Kibenok at Wikimedia Commons
January 13, 2023
viktor, kibenok, this, article, reads, more, like, story, than, encyclopedia, entry, meet, wikipedia, quality, standards, conform, neutral, point, view, policy, please, help, introduce, more, formal, style, remove, personally, invested, tone, 2021, viktor, nik. This article reads more like a story than an encyclopedia entry To meet Wikipedia s quality standards and conform to the neutral point of view policy please help to introduce a more formal style and remove any personally invested tone May 2021 Viktor Nikolaevich Kibenok Ukrainian Viktor Mikolajovich Kibenok Russian Viktor Nikolaevich Kibenok 17 February 1963 11 May 1986 was a Chernobyl firefighter who was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union after he died of radiation sickness 1 Viktor Nikolaevich KibenokNative nameViktor Nikolaevich KibenokBorn17 February 1963IvankovDied11 May 1986 aged 23 MoscowAllegiance Soviet UnionService wbr branchInternal Troops of the Ministry for Internal AffairsYears of service1984 1986RankLieutenantUnitPripyat Fire DepartmentBattles warsChernobyl DisasterAwardsHero of the Soviet UnionOrder For Courage Contents 1 Life 2 Chernobyl Disaster 3 Hospitalization and death 4 Legacy 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksLife EditKibenok was born into a family of firefighters his father and his grandfather were both firemen He would sometimes go with his father to emergencies and watch This is presumably when he found his love for firefighting He graduated from Cherkasy Fire And Technical School in August 1984 and was sent to work in Pripyat He was a Lieutenant and the Chief Guard at Pripyat Fire Station SPVCH 6 Kibenok is described as being strong willed kind by nature a caring man He also had a love for Motorsports and owned a motorcycle In his free time he would modify and work on his motorcycle and loved driving it 2 He was told of his wife s pregnancy just two days before the accident the child would later die in labour 2 Chernobyl Disaster EditKibenok and his brigade were on duty at the moment of explosion An alarm came through from Volodymyr Pravyk s brigade requesting him to send his brigade to the power plant Kibenok had been told that the roofs of the turbine hall and the third reactor had caught fire He dispatched a Ural 375 AC 40 two ZIL 130 AC 40s and a ZIL 131 AL 30 mechanical ladder truck 3 Kibenok riding in a ZIL 130 4 arrived on the southern side of the power plant at around 1 35 AM 4 and his brigade briefly parked their vehicles along the turbine hall Kibenok met with Pravyk who told him to take his brigade to the roof of Unit 3 and extinguish the fires there whilst his brigade extinguished the turbine hall fires Pravyk volunteered to guide Kibenok and his men to the roof of Unit 3 3 4 At around 1 45 AM he ordered his ZIL 131 AL30 ladder truck to relocate to the north side of the plant in order to establish hose lines to the roof of Unit 3 1 Later the Ural 375 AC 40 and one ZIL 130 AC 40 were relocated onto the north side of the power plant The Ural was parked in front of Unit 4 s transport corridor on the train tracks the ZIL 130 being parked to its left 3 Four men were chosen from Kibenok s brigade to climb to the third reactor s roof Senior Sergeant Vasily Ignatenko Senior Sergeant Vladimir Tishura Sergeant Nikolai Vashchuk and Junior Sergeant Nikolai Titenok Along with Pravyk the squad of six climbed to the roof of the third reactor from the south across the turbine hall 5 3 4 According to a later report by Leonid Telyatnikov 6 there were around five small fires on the roof of the third reactor which were caused by hot pieces of nuclear material igniting the flammable bitumen roof The roof was also strewn with red hot graphite blocks and uranium fuel assemblies which were highly radioactive The squad maneuvered around the roof of Unit 3 and the base of the ventilation chimney extinguishing various small fires around the roof The roof was that hot that the bitumen began to melt and it stuck to Kibenok s boots making it difficult to move 3 5 The radiation began to take its toll though as at around 2 30 AM Tishura and Vashchuk reportedly collapsed on the roof 7 The crew began to make their way back down the ladders onto the turbine hall roof Whilst descending from the roof of Unit 3 Kibenok apparently briefly fell unconscious and had to be assisted down the stairs by Ignatenko who was also carrying Tishura down the staircase 2 The men in Pravyk s brigade who were firefighting on the roof of the turbine hall ran over to assist Piotr Khmel a driver of one of the fire engines from Kibenok s unit helped him take off his uniform and stayed with Kibenok and the others until an ambulance arrived 5 In the absence of Kibenok s squad Telyatnikov ordered three men Zakharov and Petrovsky from CVPCh 2 Pravyk s brigade to stand on firewatch on the reactor roof 4 Although they soon abandoned their post after Petrovsky reportedly went temporarily blind Zakharov was reported to have said Fuck this lets get out of here 3 5 Telyatnikov then stayed on the reactor roof himself before succumbing to the early onset of ARS 3 Kibenok was taken to Sanitary Unit No 126 the Pripyat Hospital along with all of the other first responders and plant workers 5 3 2 Hospitalization and death EditKibenok stayed in Sanitary Unit No 126 the Pripyat Hospital for one day before the true scale of the accident was realized He was then transported by air to Moscow Hospital No 6 2 which specialised in radiology and radiation burns He had received bitumen burns on the inside of his mouth and his lungs were damaged by inhaling burning bitumen 2 5 Due to these internal burns Kibenok couldn t eat and it was extremely painful for him to speak 2 He had also received severe thermal burns on his legs By May 9th Kibenok could no longer stand 4 2 He died a few days later on May 11th a few hours after his friend Pravyk Throughout his hospitalization he remained positive even after multiple failed skin grafts and a failed bone marrow transplant His funeral was held on May 13th 2 Kibenok died at age 23 He is buried alongside his comrades in Mitinskoe Cemetery in Moscow 3 2 Legacy EditAfter his death Kibenok left behind a wife and a child Although the child would later be stillborn 2 He posthumously received the Hero of The Soviet Union award and the Ukrainian Order For Courage He has a street named after him in his home city of Ivankov Kibenok also has numerous monuments all over the Kiev region including one at the Cherkasy Fire and Technical School where he trained to become an officer 5 1 See also EditDeaths due to the Chernobyl disasterReferences Edit a b c Osovik Kirill Geroj Sovetskogo Soyuza Kibenok Viktor Nikolaevich warheroes ru a b c d e f g h i j k Alexievich Svetlana 2016 Voices from Chernobyl United Kingdom Penguin Books p 147 ISBN 9780241270530 a b c d e f g h i Plokhy Serhii 2018 Chernobyl The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe United Kingdom Penguin Books p 91 ISBN 978 0141988351 a b c d e f Leatherbarrow Andrew 2016 Chernobyl 01 23 40 The Incredible True Story of the World s Worst Nuclear Disaster United Kingdom Andrew Leatherbarrow p 66 ISBN 978 0993597503 a b c d e f g Higginbotham Adam 2019 Midnight in Chernobyl The Untold Story of the World s Greatest Nuclear Disaster United Kingdom Penguin Books pp 211 212 ISBN 978 0552172899 Telyatnikov Leonid 1987 Leonid Telyatnikov Official Report 1 1 via Leonid Telyatnikov a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Smale Alison 16 May 1986 Komsomolskaya Pravda p 1 Retrieved 3 March 2022 External links Edit Media related to Viktor Kibenok at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Viktor Kibenok amp oldid 1132366686, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
