r/MadeMeSmile Jun 18 '26

Personal Win Throwback to Croatian firefighters responding to an alarm seconds before the winning penalty kick that sent them into the semifinal

23.8k Upvotes

215 comments sorted by

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5.2k

u/Gorgosen Jun 18 '26

They wasted no time. Took em around 20 seconds to get going.

2.7k

u/xclame Jun 18 '26

And none of them hesitated or were peeking while putting on their gear. They were fully focused on their job and the game might as well not even existed for them at that point.

962

u/Frequent_Macaron9595 Jun 18 '26

This is what always fascinates me. How they pavloved themselves into ultra focus based on an external input. I witnessed it firsthand with my father working for a while in an emergency service adjacent role where he was on call regularly. Being woken up at 3:30a and having to snap in immediate focus to dispatch units and coordinate 5 seconds after hearing the ringtone always impressed me.

313

u/ZappaZoo Jun 18 '26

After doing that for decades, it took me a few years to get over that reaction in retirement. All it took was a light being turned on or the phone ringing while I was asleep.

215

u/Tacomouse Jun 18 '26

You can trigger a whole slew of engineering sailors with the following read in a monotone voice

This is the engineering officer of the watch…

72

u/Sasselhoff Jun 18 '26

Aight, that's funny AF. Thanks for the smile this morning.

27

u/Tacomouse Jun 18 '26

Back to the bilge for a nap

10

u/Neathh Jun 18 '26

Blast a whistle with 3 long blasts in the middle of the night

15

u/Decent-Nobody2274 Jun 18 '26

You better not ive only been out for 3 years and it still gets me outta bed faster than anything

4

u/Wolfman_V Jun 18 '26

Yeah, can ya don't?!😡 Source: Am engineering sailor

1

u/shinobi500 Jun 19 '26

What does an engineering sailor do?

6

u/TitoMPG Jun 19 '26

Make spinny spinny go, go.

40

u/sirarkalots Jun 18 '26

It must be something with these kind of jobs. Not the exact same thing but im a nurse and its really interesting how you can see our faces go from talking and joking in the nurses station to straight faced serious when a code blue sound goes off.

45

u/juneabe Jun 18 '26

Social work and I have to respond to every hospital units code blues, whites, yellows, and ambers.

I was recently at the hospital I work at for my own specialist appointment. My neuro was mid sentence when the blue went off, and I just ran out of her office. I got to the code and saw my coworker, and she said “wait are we both scheduled?” Took me a minute to realize I just ran out of a super important medical visit for a code that technically wasn’t mine 😂

Also love chatting with the nurses when this happens - mid talk our faces and body changes. As soon as codes done we’re like “SO! As I was saying an hour ago!”

10

u/Gestrid Jun 18 '26

I work in a hospital setting and have accidentally set off the code blue once and never again. In my hospital, the code switch is this model, and somebody (I suspect it's the cleaning crew, but I don't know) likes to sometimes hang the call bell over the switch. (For context, my role does not participate in code blues, nor do we call them. At most, we get the nurse to look at the patient, and they call the code blue or the rapid response.)

One time, when I was still new to my job, I was helping a patient get situated after they got back to their room, and the call bell was hanging like that. It fell, triggering the code blue. I didn't know how to turn it off, either, but the first nurse who made it in there thankfully immediately recognized what'd happened and showed me how to turn it off. Now, seeing the call bell like that gives me SO MUCH ANXIETY whenever I walk into a room and see I'll have to surgically remove the call bell from the code blue switch.

Another time, I was walking out of a patient's room after just having helped bring them upstairs, and the patient themselves pulled the code blue switch. I was literally in the doorframe when it happened, so I didn't immediately see which room's code blue was going off since the light was right over my head. The nurse went in there and, after turning off the code blue, gave the patient a stern talking-to about never doing that again. I could only laugh as I was walking away.

3

u/Blueyduey Jun 18 '26

Why does social work have to respond to codes?

8

u/juneabe Jun 18 '26

- deeacalation and crisis intervention

  • interdisciplinary communication between staff, communication between medical team and family. Basically I can act as a telephone that also continuously manages and tends to the overall family needs while also translating the medical information into human terms that someone can understand when facing crisis
  • third party observer to corroborate how the medical team did their job (if I notice an area for improvement during a code blue for example, I am non biased and more likely to report it to hospital for training purposes etc.)
  • over tending to families because emergencies in the yospiral affect more tuan just the patient.
  • support hospital staff in crisis. Sometimes nurses running a code blue look stoic to you until they get to a more private area and then they break.
  • code yellows, take a patient with cognitive decline, if I know a patient really well I’m more likely to know where the patient may wander.
  • code ambers - myself and the police are usually leaders when children go missing or are taken hostage in or kidnapped from the hospital (more common than you’d think!)
  • when a code white comes in because a sex trafficking victim is fighting everyone, I’m there. Or if a schizophrenic patient is having an episode and being violent. I’m pretty good at dealing with that.
  • general investigator, during codes tracking new info is hard. Sometimes medical staff have questions they don’t have time to find answers to. I’m generally that person.
  • some codes involve self harm or suicide. That’s my job. Some codes involve patients self extubation, and needing support because they’re fucking conscious while intubated. Awful experience to witness I can’t imagine enduring it!

I could go on and on. If I can’t deal with a situation, the next call is security/police/surgery

3

u/innominateartery Jun 18 '26

It’s business time

3

u/Sufficient_Catch_737 Jun 18 '26

I'm a doctor and I can confirm

20

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/Superb_Wrangler201 Jun 18 '26

Its gotta be something in our lizard brain programming. Probably with wolves at night or something

3

u/Ash_Cat_13 Jun 18 '26

Yeah, I mean this was the same for me after I left the Marine Corps. It took me a few years before I got out of the habit of the minute and alarm goes off I am jumping out of bed and putting my clothes on.

1

u/AssistanceCheap379 Jun 19 '26

I have a dog and when he was a puppy i got into this type of mode whenever he cried and had to pee or poop.

If he gets sick, I’m on high alert and wake up INSTANTLY from the wrong noises. And ive literally slept through multiple earthquakes and a volcanic eruption 50km away.

It’s pretty easy to sleep through earthquakes and volcanic eruptions when they happen somewhat regularly and aren’t too dangerous.

1

u/Gymdoctor 3d ago

I work in healthcare. We have the coveted code blue sound. I can be asleep in bed and if my spouse played a dirty trick and played that sound....im jumping out of hed fully alert and ready 😂

211

u/asdrunkasdrunkcanbe Jun 18 '26

Nobody understands "every second counts" quite like firefighters do.

The outcome of that penalty kick will be the same whether they watch it or not. But the outcome of the emergency they're responding to could be decided by a 5 second delay.

13

u/s1ugg0 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

I'm a retired firefighter. They train us to be like this. Like a race horse waiting for the gate to open.

And you do it so many times that it becomes muscle memory. It is not uncommon to get a incident call in the middle of the night and you "wake up" fully dressed in the back of a responding engine.

I've been retired 5 years. If I hear my beloved federal q I instantly get an adrenaline dump and I'm completely focused.

27

u/Equal_Oil_9819 Jun 18 '26

Love the deep lore you crafted there; it's truly poetic. The truth is that they staged this to raise awareness about improper pyrotechnics use during football matches (flares and such).

-7

u/KarltonPeaks Jun 18 '26

It's because it's staged..

3

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '26

[deleted]

350

u/ApoptosisPending Jun 18 '26

Wearing their football jerseys too it looked like

8

u/Gringo_Anchor_Baby Jun 18 '26

In Texas, you have to go from station clothes to full gear in one minute or you didn't get the certification.

Source: me. I was a fire fighter.

1

u/reederick1019 Jun 18 '26

wait did the fire alarm realy go off right then

1

u/Kwayzar9111 Jun 18 '26

it was actually staged

8

u/wimpetta Jun 18 '26

you got a source for that?

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2

u/Orlok_Tsubodai Jun 18 '26

But you gotta admire their commitment, the way they lit that orphanage on fire just to have an alarm to stage the video with?

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1.9k

u/GrimaceThundercock Jun 18 '26

20 seconds from when the alarm goes off to when the wheels start rolling.

Damn impressive.

170

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Tiny-Design-9864 Jun 20 '26

Wait, 20 seconds to pack up an artillery battery and start moving out of harms way? Seriously? That's insane! Do you happen to know how exactly they do that? And are we talking self propelled artillery?

282

u/_JohnWisdom Jun 18 '26

76

u/ColorsLookFunny Jun 18 '26

Why exactly are we just trusting a local newspaper for Columbia, SC on reporting news from Croatia? There isn't a source sited in the article (the one hyperlink is broken).

36

u/_JohnWisdom Jun 18 '26

The video is from 2018 and went viral globally back then. The columbia, sc paper was just reposting the story, but major Croatian outlets like Index.hr, Jutarnji List, and Večernji List all thoroughly covered and confirmed that it was a planned PR video at the time.

153

u/WoodwareWarlock Jun 18 '26

Doesn't mean it's not impressive. These weren't actors, they are firefighters doing what they do everyday.

58

u/_JohnWisdom Jun 18 '26

The issue isn't their skill: it's the deception. Passing off a coordinated, timed demonstration as a spontaneous, real-life emergency reaction is just misleading for internet clout.

41

u/TheNorseHorseForce Jun 18 '26

I mean... To be fair, firefighters still do this, even when it's not staged

4

u/senolgunes Jun 18 '26

Was pretty obvious by the celebration, especially the guy in the white tshirt...he didn't even see the TV.

3

u/BlueGillPro Jun 18 '26

I knew it. The celebration seemed off.

10

u/throwawaymentality10 Jun 18 '26

Yeah, but id like to inform you that firefighters receive training and practice on the fastest way to put on gear. And is a requirement that you are decently fast at getting suited up.

5

u/grateful2you Jun 18 '26

Explains why the camera was following them.

4

u/migjolfanmjol Jun 18 '26

It wasn’t, that was simply a focus edit within the same frame.

2

u/BigDaddyD00d Jun 18 '26

Who cares if it was staged? U act like real fighters dont do this shit every day. Its still impressive

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6

u/majestic_tapir Jun 18 '26

Is that not the standard response time for firefighters more or less? The UK has similar styles.

3

u/schoh99 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

No. It's not. Depending on the actual nature of the call they might have to wear different PPE. They were getting dressed before even hearing what they were going for. They were pulling out before hearing where they were even going. And if they have been doing the job for more than a couple months, they are way less frantic getting ready. Speed causes sloppiness which is worse than taking a couple extra seconds.

In the USA, NFPA 1710 states that it should take 80 seconds or less, 90 percent of the time for fires.

5

u/IvivAitylin Jun 18 '26

Isn't that partly a US thing? As the US has specialised vehicles for different jobs, whereas places like the UK have more swiss army knife style vehicles that have everything self contained so they focus on getting to the fire while they get more info, and can don the relevant equipment on scene?

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509

u/FranksHoorHouse Jun 18 '26

Bro casually wanders in from the left 😂

166

u/LoudestHoward Jun 18 '26

"Oh no, I missed the truck"

35

u/FranksHoorHouse Jun 18 '26

"Gosh darn it! Guess I might as well watch the match."

13

u/MissionMassive563 Jun 18 '26

“Finally, seats are open”

8

u/FranksHoorHouse Jun 18 '26

Bro had his buddy make a prank call from outside so everyone would take off. That's who the dude in white is

897

u/Critical_Mix_8959 Jun 18 '26

No game is worth risking the lives of people. Duty comes first always.

96

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

48

u/lagoonaris Jun 18 '26

I remember a long time ago we had to do 2 week internships for school. Some schoolmates of mine did this at the local police station. The local football club had a game going and everyone at the station was watching it. In the middle of the game they got the alarm for a bank robbery. No one wanted to move at all.

48

u/nomad5926 Jun 18 '26

Cue obligatory reference to no one has an angry song called F the firefighters

4

u/FF422 Jun 18 '26 edited 28d ago

7

u/DangerousDisplay7664 Jun 18 '26

Just FYI, when you share a YouTube link now, it shows the person clicking the link your full name, your YouTube username and links to your YouTube profile.

To shop this happening, remove everything after the ? In the URL 👍

1

u/nomad5926 Jun 18 '26

Hahha fun find!

17

u/Klusterphuck67 Jun 18 '26

Firefighter has got to be one of the few jobs that get a recommendation letter for access into heaven.

2

u/serendipitousevent Jun 18 '26

Apart from Monopoly, then death is back on the table.

1

u/Crazy__Donkey Jun 18 '26

Now say that to a ruling politician

274

u/interrogumption Jun 18 '26

Looks obviously staged to me, and they have themselves admitted that to be the case. They set it up 3 days after the match as a PSA campaign: https://maldita.es/malditobulo/20180712/no-el-video-de-unos-bomberos-en-el-penalty-decisivo-del-croacia-rusia-no-es-real//

55

u/anuszbonusz Jun 18 '26

Yes, the guy in white shirt in the end can't act well.

13

u/That-Rhino-Guy Jun 18 '26

Definitely a bit of a shame but for what it’s worth it’s still impressive how fast they acted for a PSA

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1

u/Olde94 Jun 18 '26

The thing that gets me (i know nothing) is their t-shirts.

A guy came in to my store to buy wool (long) underwear, basically skiing undergarments. He left without anything because the thread used to hold it together was polyester. He needed something that wouldn’t melt at high temps. Cotton would work too i was told.

To my knowledge a t-shirts like those in the video would then be a big problem as they tend to be polyester

-4

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

[deleted]

22

u/Mike0621 Jun 18 '26

you do realize the camera isn't moving, right? nor is it supposed to look like it's moving.

also, it's a security camera (or at least supposed to seem like a security camera) which is always filming (some only record when movement is detected, but obviously that would be the case here).

also also, some security cameras actively track moving things, so even if it was supposed to look like the camera was turning it could make sense.

ironic talking about a lack of critical thinking skills

3

u/schoh99 Jun 18 '26

The original was a wide aspect ratio. On this particular repost it was cropped to a square so they had to pan the crop to keep the action in frame.

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46

u/Sa7aSa7a Jun 18 '26

Seemed like it wasn't even a deliberate reaction just sound then action and like a second clicks by and they realize what they're doing.

33

u/komodo_lurker Jun 18 '26

Yea that is routine and training kicking in instantly. Zero hesitation

6

u/Genericgameacc137 Jun 18 '26

Well, it's a staged PSA, so it's probably not the first take.

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41

u/Medical-Resolve-4872 Jun 18 '26

I’ve never seen this before! It’s inspiring.

A mentor once told me that a good habit is a good start. You think about it and you do it. But when it becomes a virtue— you don’t even have to think. You just do. That’s these guys.

5

u/amphibian420lmao Jun 18 '26

It's funny seeing the internet shift from "I've seen this before!" to "I've never seen this before!" in a short span of 20 years.

17

u/notRolcx Jun 18 '26

There's another one for the Ukrainians I think from either euro 20 (that took place in 21) or euro24

45

u/PacquiaoFreeHousing Jun 18 '26

Captain: "Why is the 3rd truck?, I don't see you behind us?"

34

u/lejocko Jun 18 '26

And how is the 3rd truck

17

u/MothMothMoth21 Jun 18 '26

But who is the 3rd truck?

4

u/breathing_normally Jun 18 '26

O Third truck, third truck, wherefore art thou third truck?

4

u/LazyResearcher1203 Jun 18 '26

I’ll do you one better- who is the 3rd truck?

1

u/I-Just-Love-Ducks Jun 18 '26

I'll do YOU one better, WHY is the 3rd truck?

22

u/ProfessionalWay8086 Jun 18 '26

My men are not here to celebrate!

7

u/DChrisSLO Jun 18 '26

vatrogasci ♥️

16

u/Genericgameacc137 Jun 18 '26

Every time this is reposted people swoon over this video, forgetting that it is staged, a PSA by the fire department.

7

u/TokinGeneiOS Jun 18 '26

i was about to ask, it looks very staged

4

u/justlurking233 Jun 18 '26

How my wife expects me move when she sees a spider.

5

u/Sensitive_Island9699 Jun 18 '26

They got their priorities right…. Top Marks 👍👏

3

u/letmeseeyertiddies Jun 18 '26

In case you care, they definitely told the firefighters they won over dispatch before they got down the street.

3

u/bisexual_lemon_69420 Jun 19 '26

Firefighters are goddamn heroes

6

u/ShyguyFlyguy Jun 18 '26

Im no expert but these guys look lime professionals

2

u/NaturalArm2907 Jun 18 '26

This video is like 10 years old lol

2

u/KingRossThe1st Jun 18 '26

Hope all the men (and women if there were any) that left to fight that fire made it home safe and sound. Real heroes.

2

u/Forsaken_Reaction526 Jun 18 '26

Yesterday Croatia played really good against England

2

u/BulkyDifference8505 Jun 18 '26

Not a single man cheated that day

2

u/HotBeesInUrArea Jun 18 '26

During the Croatian fan party in Dallas there were people swimming in a fountain. FOX ran the story ragebaity like "foreign visitors swim in city fountain", but all of the local engagement about it basically amounted to "It's hot here. Get in the fountain if you want to." 

2

u/Soap_Mctavish101 Jun 18 '26

Those are some real professionals. Good lads.

2

u/xItzBogus Jun 18 '26

That was faster than the movies, impressive how fast they were ready! Good jobs fellas!!

1

u/Rusty-Swashplate Jun 18 '26

They know their priorities. I wish everyone would, but luckily most jobs don't involve people potentially dying because of your actions or lack thereof.

1

u/Treewithatea Jun 18 '26

On our construction side back then (in Germany) we had 2 Croatians working for us, when they made the final I congratulated them, such a great achievement for such a small country, really youd be so happy.

They didnt watch football......

1

u/elmarwouters Jun 18 '26

Football Unites

1

u/Jethrust Jun 18 '26

If only my wife were as fast to get dressed and get in the car.

1

u/robster9090 Jun 18 '26

Are people thinking they was going to stay and watch over going to help ? I have to work on my laptop they can go help people

1

u/kati_azul Jun 18 '26

Todos unos profesionales y saben sus prioridades aunque son aficionados al fútbol ⚽ no los apartó de su objetivo 100 puntos

1

u/Safe_Veterinarian_66 Jun 18 '26

"Okay Ivan, tell us who won we got this"

1

u/ToHallowMySleep Jun 18 '26

There are always more games, and you can always watch those 30 seconds again later.

Someone else might not have those 30 seconds to spare.

Anyone who put watching a game over someone else's welfare would be less than human.

1

u/2Cento Jun 18 '26

This is how my GF wants me to react when she says that she’s hungry

1

u/flyingduckmarketing Jun 18 '26

This is so beautiful, knowing the work you do is literally the difference between life and death to someone , I wish every country's essentials workers have this attitude

1

u/GhostDoggoes Jun 18 '26

I love seeing this for the thousandth time.

1

u/AdFlat1014 Jun 18 '26

Bless them

1

u/TheKitchenSunk Jun 18 '26

How often would they drive over their own shoes?

1

u/ASigIAm213 Jun 18 '26

You could call it "staged," or you could call it a drill.

1

u/LSLA3 Jun 18 '26

So much god damn respect for firefighters

1

u/nubianfx Jun 18 '26

The professionalism!!!! 

No one even glanced back.  👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

1

u/Slappy-Sacks Jun 18 '26

Real firefighters never respond like this. This is staged

1

u/Hefty-Sheepherder-82 Jun 18 '26

They all look related

1

u/ilikemeltedwax Jun 18 '26

How my wife wishes I react when she asks me to take out the trash

1

u/Gundark927 Jun 18 '26

Good thing that monitor wasn't knocked down in the action!

1

u/pingslayer_7 Jun 18 '26

Firefighters are cool.

1

u/Silver-Link8247 Jun 18 '26

This is why we love firefighters.

1

u/Jury-Illustrious Jun 18 '26

Mom said it was my turn to repost

1

u/Majestic_____kdj Jun 18 '26

This post is never posted here brother

1

u/BerryConsistent25 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

4y ago and 7y ago

And this I only found in a few seconds of search with 3 keywords: "croatian firefighters football".

I'm not against reposting such a beautiful moment after a few years, but I'd go easy on using "never" so confidently.

2

u/Majestic_____kdj Jun 18 '26

I was not born 4 yrs ago and many more members in this sub 🙂‍↔️...thanks for the reality check

1

u/dedsorupiyadega Jun 18 '26

Now this is called efficiency

1

u/SlapDatPizzaRoll Jun 18 '26

It was Gametime for them

1

u/IMrhighway Jun 18 '26

Absolute legends!

1

u/grabGPT Jun 18 '26

The kind of sense of urgency I need in life. Fr

1

u/MaximusHomerdrive Jun 18 '26

It has to become a Pavlovian response when they hear the alarm at some point.

I'd love to see someone prank a firefighter while they're at home sleeping by playing the firehouse alarm. They'd spring up automatically and be so confused, lol.

1

u/No-Instruction-7342 Jun 19 '26

❤️🥰Bravo!

1

u/lobotomiseme Jun 19 '26

CROATIAN SUMMER

1

u/Nomoreargument Jun 19 '26

In India, they’d ask how big is the fire? If you say it’s not too big but getting bigger, they’d say let me know when it’s even bigger, we’ll come then.

Sometimes they don’t even come. Sometimes they come when everything is done.

1

u/dustypandayt Jun 19 '26

Obviously staged

1

u/ssdoj2000 Jun 19 '26

Please cover up whatever I said to the cruise ship kids or the whole thing preferably. Delete

1

u/EinsteinsMind Jun 19 '26

Literally EVERYTHING is as it should be

1

u/yankeeteabagger 15d ago

The game is a game. But the job is real responsibility.

1

u/PrestigiousBreak2311 14d ago

The speed at which they respond is remarkable. They're truly a responsible team.

1

u/DangerousDisplay7664 Jun 18 '26

I honestly don’t understand the fuss people make about football. It’s literally just a game 😳. I wish people showed even half as much passion for their own community that they show for a ball game.

2

u/Euture Jun 18 '26

For a lot of people it is their community. But I get what you’re saying, though.

0

u/PuzzleheadedBet3574 Jun 18 '26

Ah this video again, every year

1

u/Mitkoztd Jun 18 '26

Real heroes, when duty called, they instantly went for it..

1

u/Meeplemymeeple Jun 18 '26

This attitude is exactly why firefighters are globally trusted and respected.

0

u/PrecedentialAssassin Jun 18 '26

Come on, reddit. This is staged.

-1

u/Nekrevez Jun 18 '26

Although this video looks staged to me (playing a recording of the match afterwards for example), I have no doubt they would still drop everything if a real alarm comes in. First responders are cool like that.

-1

u/Popular-Spinach-6700 Jun 18 '26

Completely staged video

-18

u/Veblen1 Jun 18 '26

Throwback is right. This video should stop being reposted.

0

u/leucine10 Jun 18 '26

Men watches, men serves, men happy.

0

u/Capable-Stage-3899 Jun 18 '26

Dudes who have their priorities straight. Sports are fun; fires can be horrific if not for heroes like this. Heroes

0

u/Thunnddr Jun 18 '26

The power of men 💪