On February 25, a blaze at a restaurant in west Delhi’s Vikaspuri killed two firefighters and injured two others.
Hari Singh Meena and Hari Om, who had little idea about the situation, in the building, were flung into the air when an LPG cylinder inside the eatery exploded. Firefighters said that their bodies were completely charred.
Unfortunately, such situations are not new for the Delhi Fire Service (DFS).
While their counterparts in the US, UK and Canada use ‘hoverboards’ and ‘robotic systems’ to assess a blaze, Delhi’s firefighters have only a cotton dungaree and a plastic helmet to protect them. Unlike other countries, where the owners of buildings are supposed to notify changes made to buildings, including a list of combustible substances, in India the provision is merely a formality.
‘No culture of safety’
“Our men can go inside wearing a steel suit, but they will still be endangering their lives because of the insensitivity of the people and authorities. We do not have a culture of safety,” said G. C. Mishra, DFS director.
While firefighters in US and Canada use technology to assess the nature and source of fires before sending firefighters inside a building, firemen in Delhi have to physically step inside a burning building to judge the situation.
DFS personnel say that the only weapon they have when entering a blazing structure is their grit and passion.
The firefighters lack even basic facilities. They are yet to receive protective suits, which have been available in the markets for almost a decade now.
Fire operator Ravinder Kumar said that it was only recently that foam tanks were introduced. Breathing masks and skylifts to tackle fires in high-rises is also a fairly new addition. “We love our jobs, but the government should help us. Jaan dene mein hum katrate nahi hain... humari jaan ke badle agar ek bhi jaan bachti hai toh sau baar jaan kurbaan . (We will never hesitate before laying our lives down. If my life can save even one life, I am ready to die a hundred times),” said Mr. Kumar.
Heading for a change?
The fire department is also severely under staffed. At present, the DFS has 1,600 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 3,500. Of the 1,600 officials, only 1,200 are firefighters. With no weekly-offs, the men are on their feet every minute.
But things are slowly changing.
Three days after the Vikaspuri incident, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called a meeting to discuss the poor state of equipment and working conditions in DFS. He ordered the procurement of the best fire-fighting equipment, training in world-class centres, incentives for additional work hours, and filling up of vacancies.
“It is nice that after being neglected for so long the government is at least thinking of us,” said a fireman, who did not wish to be named.
Indian manufacturers, too, are coming up with better fire-fighting equipment. “We have been manufacturing suits made of Kevlar composites, which allow firemen to face temperatures as high as 400 degree Celsius,” said Manohar Vapsekar, a Noida-based manufacturer.
