The UT administration, which keeps on conducting fire drills was caught on the back foot when a real fire broke out in the city at sector 17. The fire broke out on Sunday evening in the four-storey Government-run National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIEIT) building.
Two firemen died in the firefighting operations because the team which reached the spot to douse the fire was ill-equipped and were unable to calculate the risk involved. Despite constant plea by the nearby shopkeepers, the UT Fire Department didn’t deploy the hydraulic stairs.After the initial phase of the firefighting operations, it was declared that the situation is under control but later the bellowing smoke broke into a flare and second round of operations were started, without apt preparations which resulted in the death of two firefighters and several injuries.
The firefighters, who were on the spot, were not provided with smoke masks and to top that most fire officials didn’t have firefighting suits.According to sources, in the Government Multi Specialty Hospital at sector-16, the ambulances were called at around 8.40 pm but the fire broke out at around 4.30 pm in the evening.
It was only after situation went out of control, the officials of the Fire Department called the hospital. The firefighters Raghubir Singh, Jatinder Dahiya, Shekhar and Sachin were admitted to the GMSH 16 following asphyxiation.It should be noted that majority of the firefighters didn’t have smoke masks and were trying to protect themselves with their handkerchief. Proper first-aid was not available at the spot and the breathing apparatus were nothing better than dummies as their batteries were discharged.
The over confidence and the lackadaisical attitude of the fire department claimed two lives and resulted in serious injuries as medical team was not informed on time. The fire department were not even equipped with proper lights to manage the situation and some makeshift arrangement were made to rescue the fire officials, who were caught beneath the debris of the building which collapsed due to the heat, resulting in delay.