First man standing

For the last 40 years Bipin Ganatra has not missed lending a helping hand at even a single fire incident in Kolkata

For the last 40 years Bipin Ganatra has not missed lending a helping hand at even a single fire incident in Kolkata

Bipin Ganatra is the only person apart from the fire brigade officials who had been to almost every fire accident site in Kolkata in the last 40 years.

The 52-year-old electrician is a popular figure among the Kolkata Fire Brigade officials, who now recognise him as an ardent volunteer who would do everything to help people stuck during a blaze.

Ganatra lives alone in his 27, Debendra Street house and keeps a keen eye over the incidents of fire being reported from city. His main sources of information are local news channels and radio news. There have been instances when the 52-year-old electrician has reached the accident site much before the Fire Brigade itself.

Ganatra has become so adept at handling fires that even the fire officials have full faith in his capabilities. "In fact I was offered a job by the fire official. But, I declined. I just want to carry out on my own," he told MiD DAY, standing near the 150-year-old multi-storeyed Stephen Court where the Tuesday's devastating blaze was being doused at war-scale.

When asked about the inspiration behind his noble mission, Ganatra gets nostalgic. "My elder brother Narender Ganatra was severely burnt at our house in Kolkata 40 years ago. We rushed him to a hospital but he died after battling his wounds for a month. It was Diwali night and I was just a 12-year-old kid then. The whole incident is still etched in my memory."

"I still see my brother in every person stuck in a fire. My efforts are directed towards bringing peace to the soul of my dead brother," Bipin said, wearing a yellow helmet much like a fireman.
Known as 'Bipin Da' and 'Bipin Bhai' among the Kolkata fire officials, Ganatra said he would continue his mission till the last breath of his life. When asked if he doesn't fear for his own life, a smiling Ganatra said, "I don't have much to lose."

Blaze-flash

At least eight people were missing till late Tuesday night at the Stephen Court, site of the devastating blaze in which at least 16 people were killed and more than 20 injured.
According to sources, all the missing people used to work for Microsys Technical Enterprises that shifted its office to the 150-year-old multi-storeyed building just a few months back.
Fire officials told MiD DAY that this is the first fire in Kolkata's history, in which six people died of injuries other than those related to fire. Sourav Barike, Vivek Upadhyay, Richa Krishnan, Pradip Sukhani and Vikas Aggarwal - all employees of the Rawat & Sons Engineers Pvt Ltd jumped from the sixth floor to escape the raging fire. However, some of them came crashing on to the roof of the parking portico and some hit the road directly.
Twenty of the injured were admitted to SSKM Hospital, Sambhunath Pandit Hospital and Mercy Hospital. Five of them are in the ICU. Firemen and locals rescued 40 people from the burning building, where 45 fire tenders fought for over eight hours to bring the flames under control. Fire officials said the fire could have been caused by an electrical short circuit or bursting of a gas cylinder.
The fire, which was spotted in the fifth floor at 2.15 pm, later spread to the sixth and seventh floors and was brought under control at about 10.30 pm. A 70-metre ladder, the world's second tallest, was used to rescue the trapped persons. Kolkata Police's mobile trauma unit and the Quick Response Team joined 300 firemen in the fire control battle.