NOT ALL HEROES

FIRST RESPONDER STORIES

Whether they are responding to environmental disasters or supporting their community as volunteer fire fighters, Magna heroes are serving people all around the world.

Magna first responders and volunteers go above and beyond to save lives, keep us safe, and help our communities rebuild – sometimes risking their own lives in the process.

We are grateful for their sacrifices and courageous work as they seek to make our communities and world a better place.

Here is a closer look at a couple of them.

Read more Magna first responder stories in the MyLife app or click here.

https://www.magna.com/insights/first-responders

Brumadinho Tragedy:

‘INTENSE WORK FROM THE HEART’

Using the skills he learned as a Magna safety technician, Jose Pacheco volunteered to help in the recovery effort following a January 2019 mining dam collapse that killed hundreds of people and was one of the worst environmental disasters with victims in Brazil.

A tidal wave of toxic mud created by the dam’s failure stretched for five miles, burying homes, offices and people in this tight-knit community near Brumadinho. One media report said the mud and debris could fill about 5,000 Olympic swimming pools.

“The first thing I saw was how immense the despair and destruction was and how small I was,” recalled Pacheco, who spent two and a half  weeks at the site after working his shift each day at Magna’s Sao Joaquim de Bicas seating facility. “I prayed all the time and asked God for the strength to carry on.”

Armed with his own safety equipment, carrying a small image of St. Mary and wearing a rosary, Pacheco joined the volunteers searching for victims buried in at least 20 feet of soft mud. The first responders risked their lives in an effort that quickly shifted from a rescue of the living to a recovery of the dead, as families of the victims huddled nearby, waiting for word about their loved ones.

The first thing I saw was how immense the despair and destruction was and how small I was, I prayed all the time and asked God for the strength to carry on.

His safety technician training, including emergency preparedness and conducting inspections, honed his skills for dealing with such a daunting task. In addition, his hobby of practicing extreme sports with friends, including abseiling and hiking, gave him the stamina to get through the long days.

A dedicated volunteer, Pacheco, the husband of Rejane Greice and father of 19-year-old Ana Livia, also works as a parish coordinator and member of the administrative council at Santa Isabel Church. His many duties include visiting the sick and teaching religious education.

While Pacheco’s participation in the recovery effort is over, the search still continues for victims into 2020. Experts say it will take 50 years to restore the farming and fishing that were devastated by the tragedy.

“Why did I go?” he repeats when asked. “I was trained to go there. The biggest lesson I learned is that there are bigger problems than the ones we complain about. What I’m doing now is learning to be a better person every day.”

“It was intense work from the heart,” Pacheco said. “I knew two of the victims. Everyone participating in the recovery effort felt sadness about the people who wouldn’t see family and friends again. We would share our feelings with each other afterward as a way to digest so much sadness.”

When the volunteers found a body, they would alert firefighters, who would take over the recovery effort and remove the deceased by helicopter.

A K-9 HANDLER AND HIS HERO DOGS

With his search-and-rescue dogs Java and Leon at his side, Magna maintenance employee Leopold Laibacher drove over 4,000 miles throughout Austria in 2019 and spent 190 hours during 12 missions to save lives.

That’s not even counting the approximately 40 emergency calls he answered as a firefighter in Stubenberg, Austria, another volunteer effort he has been a part of for 22 years.

Laibacher works at Magna’s Mirrors Auteca division and is a member of Samariterbund, an Austrian organization similar to the Red Cross. He and his dogs are trained to work against insurmountable obstacles to find, rescue and save people.

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Magna is a great company for people who want to volunteer,” he said. “My boss is willing to give me time off to help with rescue missions. It says a lot about a company when management is so supportive of volunteers and allows them so much flexibility.

They became a team when Laibacher rescued the dogs from a local shelter.

“I picked the two that seemed to trust me the most,” Laibacher said. “I had built and donated dog houses to the shelter, and the dogs seemed to recognize me by my scent.”

He adds: “The most useful hobby a person can have is saving someone’s life.”

Leon is a five-year-old Malinois male who is sent off-leash in forests and rough terrain to search for the missing. When he finds them, he is rewarded with a squeaky toy.

Java, a two-year-old Austrian black-and-tan hound, is a female who excels at city rescues and prefers a game of fetch or tug-of-war with a rope when she succeeds in a rescue mission. Both get a special kind of sausage as part of their reward, too.

Leon and Java have been involved in several missions, resulting in the rescue of many missing people.

“Both of the dogs are very friendly with people, but they don’t like cats,” Laibacher said. “They don’t bite them, but they bark. However, they ignore cats when they are working.”

Laibacher began working with shelter dogs that save lives four years ago. It was a natural extension of growing up on a farm where he spent time with “working animals” and had his own horse.

Helping others is a family affair for Laibacher, whose father has been on the firefighting force in Stubenberg for 52 years and walks Java and Leon when his son is at work.

In addition to his heroic “hobby,” Laibacher is one of the first-aid responders at Mirrors Auteca. It’s his way of giving back to a company that supports his spirit of volunteerism.

“Magna is a great company for people who want to volunteer,” he said. “My boss is willing to give me time off to help with rescue missions. It says a lot about a company when management is so supportive of volunteers and allows them so much flexibility.”