Firemen don postman’s cap

While they have been grudgingly delivering official mail and invitations,including House meeting letters of councillors,for the last six months,the firemen were even handed the wedding cards of a senior Municipal Corporation official’s son for distribution last week.

Fire brigade officials at the Sector 17 station,on the condition of anonymity,told Newsline: “We have not been given uniforms for the last three years and have been paying for them from our own pockets. We are already severely shortstaffed. Rather than recruiting more firemen,we are being made to distribute letters and wedding cards,” said a senior fireman.

Two firemen arrived on their Pulsar bikes,rushed inside the office to collect cards and headed for the residences of invitees. A newly recruited fireman disclosed that apart from delivering letters,a few of them are also made to do clerical jobs in the fire offices.

One of the firemen said,“In one shift there are only two drivers available for eight vehicles. There should be a minimum of six persons available for one vehicle during a fire rescue operation; we,however,have only four.”

Referring to the Sector-22 fire last Thursday that claimed four lives,the driver said,“That day too we had only two drivers on duty. We had to call in those on leave in order to manage the situation.” There are eight fire stations in Chandigarh — Sectors 17,11,38 and 32,Industrial Area Phase I and II,Ram Darbar and Manimajra.

Another official added that families of two of their colleagues who lost their lives during rescue operations are to receive any benefits or gratuity till date. “We have not been provided any insurance cover. Why should we risk our lives when we know there is nobody to look after our families in case we lose our lives in an operation?” asked a fireman. At present,there are around 212 firemen,including drivers,posted at various fire stations in Chandigarh. “We need at least a 100 more firemen to handle any fire in and around the city. We are suffering from acute manpower shortage but nobody seems concerned,” said a senior fireman.

To add to this,the post of the chief fire officer has been lying vacant for the last five years.

Missing medical personnel

As per norms,it is mandatory for an ambulance to accompany a fire tender in case of a fire. The ambulance at the fire station,however,is in a dilapidated condition. To begin with,there is no doctor to accompany the firefighting crew during an operation,though it is deemed essential since a majority of deaths during fire incidents occur due to asphyxiation. There is no oxygen cylinder; neither does the first-aid box kept inside the ambulance have a complete stock of medicines. “No doctor is available. We have been given elementary first-aid training,but in case of an emergency we have to rush the patients to hospitals,” said one of the drivers.