Mumbai: Bhandup mall firefighters at COVID-19 risk

Over 200 firemen and officers were deployed to fight the fire at Sunrise Hospital in Dreams Mall. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

A week after the fire tragedy at Sunrise Hospital in Dreams Mall, it has come to light that the firefighters and others who risked their lives rescuing 70 COVID-19 patients, may get infected by COVID-19. Fire Chief Kailash Hiwrale has shown symptoms for mild COVID-19 and was admitted to Nanavati hospital, on March 31.

Senior fire officials told mid-day that Hiwrale had complained of chest congestion and breathing difficulty, so an antigen test was done, which was negative, but he was still admitted and his swab for RT-PCR was taken on Thursday evening. The report is awaited. However, Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani confirmed that the fire chief has mild COVID-19.

This brings to light the probable risk to over 100 firemen from across city fire stations who participated in the fire-fighting at Bhandup. Highly placed fire officials informed mid-day that out of 2,580 fire staff attached to Mumbai Fire Brigade, between February 13, 2021 and March 30, 2021, 1,982 got the first dosage of the vaccine. In the same period 983 also got the second dose.

Many firefighters are yet to get the second dose of the vaccine

According to sources within the fire department, Fire Chief Hiwrale was present throughout the night last week on March 25 at Dreams the Mall, supervising and directing the rescue and fire-fighting operations. He was unwell for the past few days.

"For the Bhandup fire, nearly 60 different types of fire engines and vehicles with over 200 firemen and officers were deployed. Of these men and officers, nearly 10 per cent had at some point entered the premises," said a fire official.

Interestingly, a senior fire officer added, "We had given PPE kits to the firemen who were in direct contact with COVID patients. All patients were shifted to hospitals in 108 ambulances."

No decontamination vehicles

Unfortunately, the Mumbai fire brigade does not have decontamination vans to tackle such situations. The only vehicle that could have been used for decontamination is the hazmat van, a chemical hazard combat vehicle to tackle a chemical blaze or leak of radioactive or nuclear material, etc. It was imported from Slovenia in January 2019, for R7 crore, and stationed at the Byculla headquarters. Currently hazmat vans are also being used world over to decontaminate fire-fighting equipment amidst the pandemic.

According to M V Deshmukh, former Director Maharashtra Fire Services and advisor to the state government, "CTIF - The International Association of Fire and Rescue Services, a worldwide organisation working for firefighters safety since 1900, has used the hazmat van and is coming up with innovative techniques to decontaminate firemen's gear and their tools, post the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. A fire rescue cannot be carried out wearing a PPE kit, as it is not made of fire retardant materials."

"The hazmat van could have been used to disinfect the firemen and tools, which had come in direct contact with the COVID patients. Some level of decontamination could have been possible. Fire Chief Hiwrale could have opted to control the situation from the command centre, instead of leading the force from front considering his age and comorbid health conditions. The firemen and disaster team need to plan for all such eventualities in future," said Deshmukh.

Another former fire officer also said that the hazmat van could have been used to decontaminate to some extent, though it is not a vehicle meant for handling viruses. The officer further added, "It is not practically possible for the Fire Chief to handle a situation from the command centre. Mumbai Fire Brigade history has always shown that the Fire Chief leads the team from the front, which also helps to boost the fire force morale."

The other side

Asked if anyone other than the Fire Chief has shown symptoms or tested positive, Suresh Kakani, Additional Commissioner, said no and added, "It is not clear how the Fire Chief got infected. As an administrative head, even after the Bhandup fire, he might have visited other places, so it is not clear. But he is better and under observation."

Kakani said, "We have asked all the firemen who fought the Bhandup fire to closely monitor their health for three days and in case of any early symptoms, a special testing and fever clinic is available at the Fire Brigade head quarters at Byculla. The set up also has a 20-bed quarantine facility, where firemen with mild symptoms can be kept and later shifted to bigger centres if required."

Asked about the fire precautions at Jumbo centres and COVID hospitals, Kakani said, "Already directives have been given to all jumbo COVID centres, private COVID hospitals and other set ups to conduct mandatory fire and structural audits. Wherever adequate fire-fighting equipment is required, directives have been given to get the same. Fire drills are also conducted now, at all jumbo centres and at COVID hospitals. Fire engines and firemen are deployed at the Jumbo centres."

Mar 25
When the fire broke out at the hospital in the mall