Firemen short of helmets?

Firemen did everything right after the German Bakery blast, except one thingu00a0-- they neglected personal safety by giving helmets the go-by, under a ceiling that could fall anytime

Fifteenu00a0firemen from two fire stations in the city had promptly arrived at the German Bakery within 10 minutes of the Valentine's Day eve blast. But not one cared to wear a helmet.

Looking at the way pieces of what had been the ceiling of the building housing the bakery were dangling dangerously right above them, it could have resulted in major tragedy.

According to sources, there is severe crunch of helmets in the fire department; the few helmets that are available are also substandard, having outlived their usefulness.

In the recent past, there were two instances when fire brigade officers were killed while on duty in the state because safety norms were not adhered to.

Last year on October 6, firemen flouted the rule of not using the elevator at the time of a fire and died of choking at Tarangam Housing Complex in Thane. Last Friday, a fireman was killed and two were seriously injured while battling a major fire that broke out in a shopping complex in Borivli.

Lessons learned
Officiating Chief Fire Officer Prashant Ranpise said, "These two instances are enough to say that personal protective equipment given to fire officers should have been taken seriously."

Referring to the German Bakery blast, he said, "They should have worn helmets at the time of the operation. It is often observed that firemen take matters lightly when it comes to personal safety gear."

Ranpise added, "However, fire brigade officers did a brilliant job as they toiled for an hour and 49 minutes, helping the injured who were trapped inside the debris and even shifting them to the ambulance so that they get immediate medical help."

But Ranpise rubbished reports of a helmet crunch. "We have adequate helmets," said Ranpise.

Only in emergency
Vijay Bhilare, station duty officer of Dayanand Rajguru Fire Station near Dr Naidu Hospital, said, "As the majority of victims were thrown outside the bakery, and our priority was to shift them immediately to hospital, we did not wear helmets on that one occasion. But when the police asked us to dismantle German Bakery's fibre roof, which was in pieces, at 3 am, we had worn helmets."

Ramesh Gangad, Yerwada Fire Station in-charge, said, "The pieces of roof that were hanging were made of fibre and we analysed the situation and realised that these will not be a threat to our personal safety, so we did not wear helmets at the time of rescue operation."

Ranpise said, "After this instance I have issued a circular on Monday, highlighting the fact that personal protective equipment should be worn compulsorily as fire brigade officials go to attend a call."

10
Number of fire stations that the Pune Fire Brigade has

444
The staff strength of the Pune Fire Brigade. There are 11 station duty officers, three sub officers, two additional duty fire officers and two deputy chief fire officers, besides 303 firemen. Other staff includes drivers, clerical staff, wireless operators, auto electricians and fitters.