’We are not trained to handle gas leaks’

Fire officials say that owing to lack of formal training, they often rely on experience of senior officials to handle cases of gas leakage

'We are not trained to handle gas leaks'

Fire officials say that owing to lack of formal training, they often rely on experience of senior officials to handle cases of gas leakage

On an average, there are six to seven gas leak cases in a year in the city and its suburbs. But the fire brigade does not have any training regimen in place for the firemen to help them deal with a gas leak.u00a0

All fired up: Firemen clear the air after chlorine gas leaked at an effluent treatment plant in Bhatnagar, Chinchwad. pic/atul marwadi

Sources in the fire brigade said they are not trained to tackle gas leaks. The city's fire brigade has only two kits to stop gas leakage, which are kept in rescue vans stationed at Central Fire Brigade office.

A fire brigade official narrated an incident when an LPG tanker turned upside down on the Pune-Ahmednagar Road last year. Despite having informed the company officials immediately, they came to the spot only after 24 hours.

In the meanwhile, fire brigade officers used their presence of mind and the acquired knowledge passed on to them by their seniors.

They reduced the leakage by covering it with the help of small strips of rubber tube used in cycle tyres. "We have used mud and soap in many cases," said a fireman on condition of anonymity.u00a0

u00a0"In case of a gas leak, we evacuate the entire area, issue warnings to the citizens against doing anything that might result into a fire and wait for the officials of the company to arrive to stop the leakage," said another fireman.

"We are not trained to stop gas leakage though. We remain alert as there are dangers of fire erupting on the spot."

Station Duty Officer of Kothrud fire station Gajanan Pathrudkar said: "Enclosed training rooms, projectors and a screen to show documentary films are needed at the Central fire station."

u00a0"It is true that firemen are not trained to tackle gas leak calls. But officers are trained at the Fire College in Nagpur and they are expected to impart training to the other staff," said Prashant Ranpise, Chief Fire Officer of PMC.

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