Need to revitalise fire-fighting facilities

Every time there is fire, it dies of its own accord because fire-fighting facilities, which are available at present in Karachi, show no muscle to cope with large fires. It is put out when everything has been burnt and nothing is left to fuel the fire. This tragedy occurred on January 15 in a garment factory's warehouse at Site Area which, according to newspapers, is still smouldering.
"The possibilities of rescuing the victims buried under the debris of fire-devastated garment factory became extremely bleak as rescue workers retrieved the charred bodies of three firemen on the morning of 17th January. The death toll in the incident is now eight, six firemen and two factory workers. Half of the rubble had been removed as the rescue operation entered second day.
The devastated building is still smouldering and we are moving inch by inch, said the chief fire officer, Kazim Ali." This dismal scenario was also carried by a local daily in its editorial on 18th January: "The tragedy also underscores the need for better safety and fire-fighting equipment for the fire department.
It is unfortunate that services of the fire brigade go unnoticed and little is done to provide protective gear for those brave men who put their lives at risk while rescuing others from raging flames. Often the equipment they use is defective or inadequate;" and as one fireman pointed out after the recent blaze. "It is perhaps the most under-resourced department faced with man power shortage.
This department has never been taken seriously by the authorities concerned irrespective of who is in power. It further said: "The state of affairs can be assessed from the fact that the chief fire officer, Kazim Ali, was under suspension since November 22, 2006.
When this tragedy surged, the City Nazim had to call CFO, Kazim Ali at the place of the incident and reinstated him only on verbal orders because his deputy, Naeem Yousuf, was unable to cope with such fires and he suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalised."
What an apathy and gross negligence! The department, which is the backbone of the mega city as far as the welfare of the people is concerned, is being neglected since ages. Fire brigade department was never up-dated and modernised.
It has obsolete equipment for fighting fire and insufficient staff to manage large fires or emergencies. It has, at present, very limited fire tenders, fire stations, ambulances, firemen and only one snorkel.
According to the international rules, there should be one fire station, with four tenders for every one thousand persons and as such for the present population of Karachi there should have been at least 110 fire stations and 440 fire tenders.
Two ambulances and one snorkel should be at each fire station, whereas at present the city of Karachi has 11 fire stations, 40 fire tenders and a total of two ambulances and one snorkel to fight all sorts of fires. On top of all these inadequacies there is insufficiency of firemen. It has never been replenished, but instead it has gone down for the least two decades.
The important role that the fire brigade plays in controlling fire mishaps and saving of human lives does not need any elaboration. Its utility is known to everyone just like the bright sunshine.
The tragedy is that our government as well as our industrialists are penny-wise and pound foolish. The expense is made where it is un-productive, and it is denied where it is productive.
On April 06, 2006, the City Naib Nazim, Nasreen Jalil said: A helicopter with other machinery will be purchased for the fire brigade and civil defence at a cost of Rs 150 million to help cope with any emergency situation and avoid possible damages."
On November 10, 2006, Ahsan Siddiqui, Chairman, City Fire Brigade Committee, announced that the government wishes to see the Site Fire Brigade station as a model site station for industrial zones in Karachi.
These announcements are very high sounding and encouraging but the question is: Are these projects more important than the removal of inadequacies of the public service department? The deficient equipment and shortage of firemen resulted in the death of six firemen and two factory workers. On account of the negligence of the city government eight valuable lives were lost.
Who will be responsible for the misfortune of the families of the deceased brave men? Who will look after their wives and children? The most saddening part of this incident is that fire fighters were not provided with proper insurance coverage which is mandatory for those people, who are involved in this kind of risk. What a tragedy!
"The way 9/11 fire-fighters were recognised is a testament to their value to the nation where the family of each fire-fighter got anything from US $875,000 to US $4.1 million from the compensation fund, thus making them millionaires overnight."
Will the city Nazim pay ten percent of what had been paid to 9/11 firemen? No. He will pay a few lakhs of rupees to each and which amount will last only for a couple of years. What would happen to hapless families thereafter? The appropriate remedy is the adequate insurance cover for all firemen, who venture without hesitation, where angels fear to tread. I hope, this recommendation will have the positive response from the Nazim.
Our Nazim is doing a good job since his arrival. He is constructing fly-overs, under-passes, fountains at roundabouts, parks, wide roads, sewerage and other infrastructural needs of the people of the metropolis. But, in my opinion, his priority should, rather must, be the revitalising of the fire-fighting department, which had remained neglected by all past governments.
If the City Nazim feels that he is confronted with shortage of funds for the modernisation of Fire Brigade, then I suggest that he should approach personally all financial institutions, like banks, leasing companies, modarbas, mutual fund companies, insurers, Karachi Stock Exchange and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to donate not in cash but in the shape of fire tenders, ambulances, snorkels, suction and jetting machines, gas detectors, fire extinguishing suits for fire-men, turntable ladders, snake-eye video camera, thermal imaging camera, super compact mobile power pack, telescopic spreader, high performance telescopic rams, lifters having a capacity of 24 to 59 tons, jack ram for lifting up beams of 30 tons and having capacity of up to 59 inches, hydraulic premium cutter, excavator with tyre and twin capacity hammer excavator with chain (crawler) and such like other essential equipment.
Heartening news is that on January 23, City Nazim has said that the city government has earmarked a fund of Rs 100 million to streamline the working of the fire brigade department on modern lines. It is a very good start for revamping this department but the sum earmarked is peanut for the modernisation of the department because substantial money would be required for the establishment of additional fire stations and its auxiliaries.
Therefore, the best course to tide over this shortcoming is to ask the financial firms for donations as suggested. These business concerns are involved in these large fires directly or indirectly, and especially insurers are the most vulnerable. Insurance companies are directly hit by these large fires because of inadequacies of fire-fighting facilities.
I hope the City Nazim of Karachi would deliberate on the foregoing suggestions; and then, devote his entire energy to fully equip this city with latest and sophisticated fire fighting equipment, otherwise a time is not far off when everything would be beyond anybody's control.