CISF team saves Aero India face

Not many will know that the five-day aviation extravaganza, Aero India 2005, was prevented from slipping off the runway thanks to a competen...

Not many will know that the five-day aviation extravaganza, Aero India 2005, was prevented from slipping off the runway thanks to a competent Central Industrial Security Force’s (CISF) Disaster Management team.

The highly-trained and well-equipped team had put out a major fire in the Indian Air Foce campus, saving the flying display schedule and sparing the organisers a major embarrassment.

Last Friday, during the afternoon flying display, a major fire broke out in an open field inside the IAF domestic area on the other side of the highway. IAF fire tenders that were immediately rushed to the spot couldn’t douse the flames.

‘‘It was brought under control by the CISF Disaster Management team,’’ an officials source said. ‘‘If the fire had not been extinguished in time, smoke billowing over the airfield would have forced a halt to the flying display, at least for some time,’’ the offical added. One member of the team was injured in the fire-fighting exercise.

The team had also put out a fire that broke out near Gate Number 8 at the Air Display Viewing Area (ADVA) on Saturday, from where a large number of people witnessed the flying display.

Confirming the incidents, Commandant of the CISF team, D.P. Parihar said in both the incidents the team was able to bring the fire under control in a very short time. Parihar and Deputy Commandant Zhoponeyi Zuo were trained in the US, and the American fire fighters had also trained other members of the team at Hyderabad.

The 180-member team working behind the scenes was prepared to repress any eventuality, including nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. The team was divided into five different specialised units: fire fighters, NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical), commandos, rescue team and medical responders.

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Equipped with advanced imported tools like the NBC suit, metal cutters, fire fighting devices and first-aid kits, costing several crores, the team was also used for crowd control.

And they now return to their base in Hyderabad with a sense of satisfaction. ‘‘When everyone watches the air show, we work to protect them and that gives us a great sense of satisfaction,’’ Zhoponeyi added.

The team had also played a vital role in relief and rescue works at tsunami-hit Car Nicobar islands by building an 11-km road in just 48 hours.