After a fireman’s death on Monday, the chief fire officer has admitted that his men work without any safety gear.
Chief fire officer admits his men work without any protective gear
After a fireman’s death on Monday, the chief fire officer has admitted that his men work without any safety gear.
Abhay Mohite, 36, was severely injured on Thursday when he was trying to bring out a car from under the fallen branch of a tree and the tree collapsed on him in front of the MLA hostel near Free Press Journal Road. He was admitted to Bombay Hospital.
“We have lost our family member. We only hope that other firemen don’t die because of the fire brigade’s negligence and indifference towards workers’ safety,” said Ravi Sangrulkar, brother-in-law of Mohite.
The family had initially refused to accept the body till the on-duty station officer Anil Parab was suspended. Sangrulkar said Parab’s wrong orders led to the incident. “Parab’s lack of planning and negligence led to Mohite’s death. This accident could have been avoided,” he said. “We hope funds are raised to buy proper equipment for firemen.”
Also, provisions should be made for immediate admission of injured firemen in private hospitals, said Sangrulkar. “An assistant fire officer deposited Rs1 lakh for Mohite’s admission from his credit card,” he said.
Chief fire officer AD Sawant said he could understand what the Mohite family was going through. “But firemen are involved in difficult tasks. Normally we take injured personnel to a municipal hospital. But we wanted to give Mohite the best treatment in a private hospital,” he said. “Though the incident was unfortunate, it will not demoralise our staff.”
Sawant said Parab had been temporarily suspended. “Deputy chief fire officer NM Desai will inquire into the incident and submit a report in four days.” He said there was no specific safety equipment. “We have sent a proposal to the BMC,” he said.
Mohite was the sole employed person in his family. His aged mother Kamala is too shocked to say anything. Mohite’s younger brother Akhsay, 23, is studying in FYBCom.
The body was taken for a post-mortem at GT Hospital. His family agreed to take the body after learning that Parab had been suspended.
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