Mumbai: Tales of valour

Lata Deepak Gite/Bhabad, Firewoman

Lata Deepak Gite, who is attached to the Byculla Fire station, could not meet her one-and-half-year daughter for almost two days as she was perched in her office in Byculla when heavy rains lashed the city in August last year. The Dombivali resident was on duty when the intensity of the rainfall increased.

Gite along with her colleagues attended to calls and visited flood-affected areas to address problems. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Disaster Management Cell received around 10,000 calls and majority of them were addressed by the Mumbai Fire Brigade.

"I could not even change my wet clothes as I had to rush out again after coming back to office after attending a call," said Gite. When her shift ended, train services had completely been disrupted. "I was in the office and when I was asked to look at the controls as most of the officers were on field duty."

In her four-year career, Gite has already become part of the rescue operation team. "Be it a man or a woman, the pressure and requirements of the job is the same," said Gite. She adds that it is imbibed during training to save people. Her family demands her to be at home and look at her daughter and yet Geeta gives 100 percent to the job.

"As a firewoman, I never took benefit of being a woman. Despite having a young child, I am ready to be the part of a crew for rescue," said Gite.

She is at the fire prevention helpline of MFB. "I want that every citizen learns to control fire and this is only way we can save people and property that is lost in fire," said Gite. Being an athlete, Gita said, was an added advantage.

She used to commute to Wadala from Dombivali at 7am to attend her training. "The six-month training made me tough mentally and physically."

Kashinath Rajnath Mishra 50, Fireman

Kashinath Rajnath Mishra always thought of joining the army. While he did not get an opportunity to join the force, he is immensely proud of his job as a fireman.

In past 20 years, Mishra has been the part of a number of major fire calls. He says he would curse his luck when a fire broke out when he was off-duty. "I cannot think that I am not part of a crew, fighting at fire site to save people," said Mishra.

Physically agility apart, mental fitness is equally important for a fireman, he said. "Once I am at the fire site, I think only to save people and their belongings." But he is disheartened when people cannot be saved due to avoidable reasons.

Once a senior was trapped, Mishra recalled, in a fire and was not aware about it. When there is any disaster or fire, there is a designated officer who commands all action and order. "There were two fire calls in South Mumbai at one time, and our commanding officer was changed suddenly. I could not notice the announcement coming through the wireless system. It was only after my colleague informed that I learnt that my commanding officer was trapped inside a fire," said Mishra.

He said it was a very sad moment for him as he was very attached to his colleague and other officials.

The unimpressive pay packets of firemen hasn't deterred Mishra from performing his duty honestly. "I had got a police job and even in BMC's security department. But, I decided to become a firefighter."

Tatoba Dattu Patil, 53, fireman

Being one of the most experienced fireman of Mumbai Fire Brigade, Tatoba Dattu Patil is aggressive while combating fire. He had received injuries as well as was admitted to hospital after getting wounded during service. But, this did not deter his commitment for his work.

Patil has two sons, but he does not spend much time with them as he works in shifts and reaches home at odd hours. "In the last 25 years, I was part of crew dousing huge fires and rescuing people from collapsed building," said Patil.

Being mentally strong is demand of the job. "I was at a building collapse site in South Mumbai and I was drilling a slab. I felt unconscious and collapsed at the site and I had no clue at all," said Patil. He was admitted to the hospital and was discharged only after three days.

Patil says that over the period, the demography of the city has changed. "We used to get calls during 1990s but that time fire were not so huge," said Patil. He added that today they are not aware about what materials are stored in a particular place. "Over the period, the job has become difficult as the density of population has increased and people are using LPG cylinder and storing flammable items at any place," said Patil.

During his 25 years of his job as a fireman, he saw how saving people is worth the risk taken. "The family of the victim shows huge respect when we bring out someone alive from a fire or a building collapse site. That is much more rewarding than a fat salary," said Patil.

Incessant fire calls in the last few months have left him worried. "There were fire calls, but in the last month, fire calls need to be taken seriously," said Patil. He added that it was around 21 fire stations in 1990 and they could manage well. But, today with 34 fire stations, the need for more is growing.