A trained and well-equipped emergency response volunteer network is imperative for Karachi.
KARACHI: The manner in which Owais Baig fell from the State Life Insurance building after a fire broke out in the building on November 28 was most tragic and much public uproar has already followed as a consequence. The Sindh High Court has already taken notice of the manner of his death and my letter here is devoted more to the circumstances that would have existed the day of the fire. The closest fire station happens to be in Saddar, around a couple of kilometres away from the State Life building. Even if the fire tenders drove in traffic without emergency sirens, they would have reached the building in around ten minutes or so. So, the question that arises is: why were they unable to reach the site of the fire? Did the Karachi firefighting service not have a snorkel and if it did, why wasn’t it used?
It was fortunate that the other hundreds of people present in the building managed to get to safety using the fire escape which was functional. However, Baig’s life, too, could have been saved had the emergency response been prompt. Even bystanders paused and watched the victim’s ordeal. They could have climbed the mezzanine floor and used a piece of cloth or curtain to break his fall — they had more than 20 minutes to try and come up with some kind of safety net that could break the man’s fall. We have encountered this problem every time we responded to an emergency situation whether it is a bomb blast or a road traffic accident. Our entertainment-starved public flocks at the site of the emergency and creates problems.
The news report also said that the victim died in hospital. I cannot imagine how he must have been lifted from the site of his fall. Did the rescuers, who were the general public, know about cervical-spine stabilisation? From my personal experience in providing first aid to road traffic accident victims and bomb blast victims, even Edhi, Chipa and KKF ambulance drivers lack basic training for first aid and primary trauma care. A lot of damage is done to victims of C-spine injuries while transporting them, since none of the above-mentioned have ambulances equipped with a cervical collar or a spinal board.
This alone has resulted in hundreds of quadriplegic and paraplegic patients in our wards in Civil Hospital, Karachi. The only equipped ambulance service is the Aman Foundation with trained paramedics whom I have personally worked with.
Lastly, I am very disappointed with our media. The video of the victim falling eight stories to his death was repeated multiple times on every channel. My heart goes out to his parents and loved ones. Is it morally correct to show them how their son died again and again? What did the media gain out of this episode other than higher ratings? Where did we forget our morals?
A trained and well-equipped emergency response volunteer network is imperative for Karachi. We are playing our part by spreading awareness and training the general public in first response and basic life support. Simple skills such as cervical spine stabilisation for victims of fall from height and motorcycle accidents can save lives of thousands of people, and more importantly, prevent them from permanent disability.
Dr Jahanzeb Effendi
Founder, First Response Initiative of Pakistan (FRIP)
House Officer, Civil Hospital
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2012.
