Trained petrol pump owner, staff turn saviour for victims

Lucknow: A crash course in handling fire safety equipment a month back with the help of a friend came handy for Ayush Singhal (34), a fuel station owner, who led his staff as the first responder to douse fire and saved at least eight-nine lives at SS complex in Badshahnagar area.The young entrepreneur with his four staffers, including Ankit Yadav, Bihari Yadav and Raju Tiwari, rushed with five cylinders of foam-based extinguishers to control the blaze at the first floor, apparently caused by a short-circuit at an e-rickshaw battery charging point and subsequently went inside an adjacent UCO bank branch to evacuate trapped victims, including the bank manager.After five years, on January 1 Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) reopened the R S fuel station which is right next to the SS complex.Talking to TOI, the braveheart Ayush said, “It was a heavy day at the fuel station. I was busy with accounts when suddenly my staff alerted me about the fire at the SS complex. Immediately we pressed our station’s shut-down button and rushed to the first floor with fire extinguishers.” For the next few minutes, Ayush and his men risked their lives to extinguish the fire and evacuate the trapped people.“Last month, before the re-launch of the fuel station, my friend Devnash Gulati, who deals in fire extinguisher equipment, had taught me the basics of dousing the fire as I deal with inflammable fuel. As the fire safety drill was fresh in my mind I led my staff to douse the blaze. Once the fire was under control, we rushed inside the complex, especially the bank, and helped people to evacuate as the fire had caused heavy smoke,” said Ayush.