BHUBANESWAR: In the middle of the crisis in
Bhadrak
, a group of
firemen
saw
exemplary professionalism and sheer courage.
While residents complained about
administrative lapses
and delayed response from the police, they were quick to point out how a group of firefighters braved the odds and risked their lives to minimise the damages on Friday night after anti-socials torched several shops and godowns.
"We were apprehensive. We could not dare to venture out. But the firemen stood guard like a rock. They did not flinch from their call of duty and worked throughout the night, dousing the fire even as we kept peering from the windows. Hats off to them," said Ramesh Chandra Mahawar, a businessman of Chandan bazaar, the worst-affected locality.
The entire Friday night and till Saturday evening, the firemen went running from shop to shop, putting out the flames. "We just did our duty. It was scary though," recounted Harekrushna Mohapatra, the leading fireman (LFM) in a team of four.
After getting a call, when the group reached Chandan bazaar, there was blaze all around. "We started our work while at least four other teams from other places subsequently joined us. Each
godown
on fire would take more than an hour to be brought under control. After finishing the job, we realised we have clocked more than 20 hours at a stretch," he said.
But before the 20 hours, the team had also worked elsewhere on Friday afternoon. "I was just going to take some food when we got a call," said Mohapatra. Being a local, Mohapatra was sent to the most-sensitive area.
Mohapatra recalled how it was a herculean task to control the fire in an oil godown.
"We used foam floating technique over the oil tins and packets to cut oxygen to the flame. Still it took around two and a half hours to totally extinguish the fire," he said. Continuous monitoring by senior officers, state-of-the-art disaster equipment and advanced technology helped.
Around 200 fire service personnel, 23 fire vehicles, including advance tenders, fire tenders and teller pumps were used to douse the flames.
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