Mumbai Fire Brigade: Colleagues bid adieu to Sanjay Rane and Mahendra Desai

The fire brigade gave a guard of honour to the senior officers, whom they remembered as brave firefighters. The officers were declared dead late Saturday night after their charred bodies were recovered from the debris.

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Station officer at Byculla, Desai who had a distinguished 25-year career is survived by his wife and two children. While elder daughter Shivani is a first year medical student, younger son Chinmay is studying in Class 10. Two years ago, he had suffered major burn injuries during a rescue operation in Andheri. “He wished me a happy Saturday (on WhatsApp) and he was gone the same day. This is really unfortunate,” said Mahendra Chavan, his friend.

Desai’s wife Manasi said, “He left at 4 pm for the call but I did not hear from him till 7 pm. It is only when I switched on the television that I got to know about him. By night, we got a call that he has not survived. I could recognise him only because of his gold chain and ring.”

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She said that she has been assured of compensation and a job on compassionate grounds by the municipal commissioner.

An assistant divisional fire officer at Memonwada, Rane won a gallantry award in 2009. He also received the President ‘s award for his contribution during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Rane is survived by his wife and two children. Elder son Raj is an engineering student and daughter Gauri is a medical student. Jaydeep Pathwale, Rane’s family friend said, “He had an exceptional record for the last 20 years. He was known for his courage and bravery.”

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Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, who attended the funeral, said, “We will definitely help the family and also provide a job on compassionate grounds. Our priority for now is the medical treatment of our senior fire officials.”

tanushree.venkatraman@expressindia.com