by ALBERT FERNANDES | NT

POINGUINNIM: The Canacona Fire Station was set up on December 23, 1998, some 12 years ago, with one station sub-officer, four drivers, two vehicles, four leading firemen and seven firemen.

During this time these fire station personnel succeeded in saving more than a hundred lives in different accidents, including fire and also rescuing 30 animals from fire accidents.

The only hitch at the department is that the post of the full-fledged officer, which fell vacant following the death of the incumbent, more than a year ago, still lies vacant.

Before 1998, the citizens of Canacona did not have a full-fledged fire station and whenever some major accidents took place, particularly an accidental fire, they had to call upon the fire tenders, either from Curchorem or Margao. However, what used to happen in these cases is that, more often than not, before the fire tenders from Curchorem or Margao got to the site of the fire, everything was burned to cinders or reduced to ashes. Fortunately, this scenario has changed since 1998.

The present strength of the Canacona fire station stands at 22, including a station sub-officer. The firemen here are prompt in attending to the various calls from all over the Canacona taluka. They attend to calls like fire hazards, emergency calls, uprooting of trees, house collapse due to uprooting of trees, rescue operation calls, flood related calls, drowning or accident cases, leakages of oil on roads, landslide, mudslides, oil tanker accident cases, and others.

The staff here works in shifts like many other departments. On an average, every day, one leading fire fighter, five firemen and one driver under the supervision of the station sub-officer are always on duty.

The station sub-officer, Mr Kashinath Dulba Sail, when asked the procedure for handling any situation, when calls are to be attended, said that he and his staff are very prompt. He said that before rushing to the site, they confirm the call by asking the name, place, phone number of the caller, so as to make sure that it is not a crank call or a hoax. Once this is done, we get to the task. No sooner we reach the spot, in case of fire, the personnel get to work.

Mr Sail informed that the first thing they do is try and salvage the adjacent structures, if any, vis-à-vis extinguishing the fire from spreading to these, which may be nearby houses, stables, storehouses or any other structure. He said that mostly water is used to douse the fire, however, "In case of oil, petrol or diesel fire, we use chemical foam to tackle it and bring it under control."

The fire ambulance also gets to the task along with the fire tender. This is done to attend to any medical attention or emergency that may be required to be attended to at the scene of the fire or accident, and also to transport the patient to the hospital

Said Mr Sail, "Our motto is ‘We Serve To Save’ and everyday we try to live up to this motto of ours. This motto has become a way of life at the station."

For the period from January 2000 till December 2009, the fire personnel attended to as many as 347 small and medium fire calls, Mr Sail informed. He also informed that about 101 rescue calls were attended to, including special service calls, which were more than 500 in number. Mr Sail further said that during this period, just 1 life was lost in a fire accident, while in other accidents 40 persons lost their
lives.

He moreover informed that 9 persons were seriously injured in other accidents, not related to fire, where their assistance was called for, while in fire related cases, some 199 persons suffered injuries. He however said with pride that his staff has managed to save more than 100 lives from severe fire accidents. He also informed that 4 animals died before they could rescue them, two sustained injuries, while as many as 30 animals were rescued from fire.

Citing a few special cases the station has tackled, Mr Sail informed that his staff worked tirelessly for 8 to 10 days, following the October 2009 floods in Canacona. He said his personnel worked round the clock to rescue people to safety, cut and cleared fallen trees, moved collapsed electricity poles, cleared mud from landslides and mudslides in different places, cleared the debris from some houses, even emptied water that had entered the homes of the people, etc. He however said that in this effort, the fire personnel from Curchorem, Panaji and Ponda too extended their full assistance and cooperation.

"My staff was also instrumental in controlling the sudden fire that engulfed some residential houses, and sheds where fishing equipment was stored at in Talpona, on October 27, 2009. We immediately called for fire tenders from Curchorem and Margao and with their assistance, we succeeded in controlling and extinguishing the fire. Of course the loss incurred was in lakhs as the people lost not only fishing equipments but their residential houses too."

Another case he recollected was the Canacona Fire personnel’s prompt response to attend to the raging fire to a Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker, that skid off the road and fell into a 40-metre deep valley at Barcem, along the NH17, on November 13, 2006.

Mr Sail said that his staff could not help the driver, who perished in the fire, which could not be doused for three days. He however said that the firemen prevented the fire from spreading to the nearby plantations and homes.

Mr Sail also informed that it is not only in emergencies that his staff is called upon. Giving an example, he said that a week ago, the Canacona Deputy Collector called upon them to trim the branches of trees, surrounding educational institutions in the taluka.

He said that in the last 12 years, the fire station has succeeded in saving property valued at around Rs 2 crore.

The fire personnel work with the help of fire-fighting and rescue equipments, which include mechanical foam extinguisher, soda acid extinguisher, CO2 extinguisher, fire hooks, diving sets, hydrants, ladders, strainer basket, nylon ropes, life jackets, electric chain saw cutter, large axes, crowbars, drag hooks, focus lamps, gas lamps, hydraulic cutters, etc. These tools make a big difference in the time of an emergency, especially an accident at night.