Fighting fire: Red heat

The men who play with fire in order to save others.

They run into buildings when other people are running out, often understaffed, underpaid, and tight on resources. But the real misfortune is that when they finally show up to a fire emergency, these heroes are often disrespected, abused, and beaten. “At times, when we arrive on scene, they curse at us, hysterically demanding what took us so long,” says senior fire truck driver Abdullah in an emotional voice.

He adds humbly, “But you know, that’s their right. It is their property that is in flames so they have a right to be emotional. But they should also realise [that] we are beings of Allah.”

Fire brigade workers protest at Civic Center, Karachi. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/ EXPRESS

Abdullah has been driving fire trucks and fighting fire for as long as he can remember. Often, he is the first to respond. His grandfatherly beard and heartwarming smile soften the blow of the difficult tales he has to share, but his twinkling eyes carry a burden his pleasant demeanor cannot hide. “I am so glad you are hearing our side of the story. I am so glad someone is,” he says for the umpteenth time. The statement is coming from a man who has a lot to say but is not often heard.

A flaming battle

Mohammad has been a firefighter for over 24 years. A humble man with a shy smile, it takes some prodding to open him up. “I don’t know why I do this. I guess I just have a desire to save lives and be of public service and [the zeal] comes from the heart and my Creator. I don’t think I am brave.”

Firefighters in Karachi struggle to rescue people from the factory fire that killed over 300 people. PHOTO: REUTERS

“He is being modest,” chimes in Saeed Jadoon, the fire chief of Karachi Port Trust (KPT). “Once he was in the hospital, recovering from an out-of-control fire he had been fighting. When he came to [work], he put his equipment back on, and rushed back to join his colleagues. There is never any shortage of courage. In fact, for some of our firefighters [even] their facial hair has caught fire.”

Although Mohammad and Abdullah’s beards have never caught fire, they do carry numerous scars. “There are various scars on my body from the job over the years, but some of the deepest cuts are the ones you can’t see,” adds Abdullah.

While Abdullah struggles to regain his composure, Jadoon breaks the silence. “Only these boys can tell you their experiences from the field, but sometimes they are treated really poorly. Once, after conducting a rescue operation, they were short on drinking water, and they went to a nearby house to ask for a drink, but they were refused.”

A fireman tries to extinguish a factory fire on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 in Lahore. PHOTO: REUTERS

“They told us that only if we brought our own cup, would they give us water. We were lower than servants,” adds Abdullah. “It was as if they were afraid that if we touched their bottles, they would get infected.”

Mohammed adds that in cases where they are unable to save the property, people turn violent. They are often grabbed by their necks and pulled out of their vehicles. And amid all this panic, they are also forced to guard their equipment. “There is so much chaos during an emergency, and at a time when every firefighter and every resource we carry is priceless, we have to leave someone at the vehicle to guard our equipment because invariably, hooligans try to steal from us.”

The duo were also on duty in 2009, fighting the fire at Bolton Market in Karachi, where over 10,000 shops were caught in an inferno and over 30,000 people lost their livelihood.

Firefighter Bashir at the Saddar fire station, Karachi. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS

“When we first saw the horrific fire from a distance, I prayed to Allah,” says Abdullah. During the efforts to contain the fire, many people vented their frustration on the rescue workers, including the senior driver. “I was punched and slapped so many times that day, and the police had abandoned us. First, they came to get us and told us they would escort us, but when the mob showed up, they completely deserted us,” Abdullah says.

In such situations, the firemen had no other option but to fight back.“Yet, my heard bled for them and I could understand their misery. They were all screaming ‘Where were you? What took you so long?’”

For Abdullah, the answers are frustrating, and his experience as a driver has taught him a lot. “One of the biggest problems is our own citizens. When a fire truck has its sirens flashing, horn blaring, and is moving at breakneck speed towards an emergency, other drivers take advantage.”

Firefighters struggling to extinguish a fire that erupted in a garment factory in Karachi on September 11, 2012. PHOTO: REUTERS

Like a school of fish that attaches itself to a whale, motorcycles, rickshaws, and cars selfishly stick to the sides of large emergency vehicles so as that they too can hurriedly get through traffic. This naturally slows a fire truck down. Worse still are the long traffic jams, which cause hold-ups. Compounding the problem are the U-turns which have been closed on long stretches of road to combat congestion. “If I wish to simply go somewhere which is five minutes away, because of all the cuts that have been closed, my route is now longer. Now I have to take the overhead bridge and lots of turns which have turned a five-minute distance into a 45-minute one!”

Rescue operation at the garment factory in Karachi. PHOTO: AFP

Perhaps what Abdullah also realises, but will not say, is that Karachi is woefully short on firefighting resources. According to a study conducted by MBA students at the Institute of Business Administration, of the 206 fire stations the port city needs to effectively to deal with hazards, there are only 22. The study also finds that in a comparison with London (adjusted for population), Karachi falls short by 10,000 safety personnel.

In Punjab, however, the situation is much better as such emergencies are handled by Rescue 1122 which offers ambulance, rescue, fire and community safety services. The public emergency service boasts an infrastructure in all 36 districts of Punjab, and claims to be the largest humanitarian service of Pakistan that has helped over 2,326,211 victims so far. The service, which is considered better organised and funded, is gradually finding grounds in other provinces such as Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well.

In the heat of the moment

When an emergency call comes in to dispatch, a yellow light fills the station after which the firefighters snap into action. Immediately, a written notice is quickly filled out so there is a record of the emergency, after which the fire bell rings and the responders determine the nature and location of the call. Other stations are also notified in case support is needed, and the fire trucks, carrying at least seven firefighters are sent off immediately.



According to Jadoon, the whole process takes 60 seconds, and one look at the sparklingly clean and well-organised KPT fire department is enough to verify that statement.

Jadoon explains that the fire trucks are checked three times a day for resources, including water, foam, diesel, and the firefighters are on standby so that they always meet the 60-seconds golden rule. In spite of this, time delays result in a loss of life, often for the strangest of reasons. “There was a fire nearby where two lives were lost because cellular networks had been shut down due to terror threats. It was a terrible tragedy, and they didn’t have a landline and only cellphones, so they couldn’t call us. In the end, someone came to our station on foot to notify us, which wasted a total of 30 priceless minutes.”



Jadoon argues that many of the obstacles can be tackled with the right resources. Fire bikes for instance would provide much better access to the narrow lanes. “We would also love to have some helicopters. If the top few fire departments in the city were armed with emergency choppers, they would make a world of a difference.”

A bumpy ride

Jadoon is every bit a firefighter, from his demeanor, to his passion for the subject, to his cellphone’s ringtone, which is the sound of a siren remixed with some electronic music. He chose this line of work when his air force career didn’t work out. As a consequence, he threw himself into this dangerous vocation, and hasn’t looked back since. Today, he carries over thirty years of experience, countless specialised trainings and a published book to his name. He also interacts regularly with fire departments in the US, whom he admires for their professionalism, work ethic and strong public relations.



Jadoon clarifies that his station responds to fire emergency situations only 10% of the time, while 90% are taken care of by rescue missions. But Karachi firefighters are in constant danger. “From 2001 there have been 30 firefighter deaths in the city,” he adds. Apart from being exposed to immense risks on the field, a Harvard study also shows that firefighters face a 100% higher risk of death from heart attacks due to the strenuous nature of their job.

Jadoon also feels that fire hazards are not taken seriously enough as a problem on a state level. “We have spent all these resources on the war on terror. But what about fire? Fire is a natural terrorist. Fire kills.”



The city does not have fire hydrants, which becomes a problem in many situations. The lack of safety protocols amongst ordinary citizens aggravates the problem further. “There is no culture of fire extinguishers. Having such equipment at home or in your car would give one a lot of mental peace.” He adds that the only people with the right fire safety attitude are the multinational companies who follow international standards. Private owners and government offices are far behind. “The key is to control the fire before it has the luxury of time to become a threat. What people should understand is that having one fire extinguisher in your hand is worth having two fire trucks on the way.” Pakistan also needs an official safety law, which does not exist so far.

Fire safety in vehicles also leaves a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to CNG cars. “It is like carrying a volcano. Nowhere in the world is CNG used like this, and it should be kept in a vertical and not horizontal position,” says Jadoon. “It is a rocket that could go 40 feet in the air.”

For a city that has grown exponentially in a short period of time, there are countless electrical fires each year. Telephone wires are used to carry huge electrical loads which often lead to fires. Meanwhile, small old buildings, which were designed with a certain electrical load in mind, have been turned into huge apartments without the proper system upgrades which can be quite dangerous too.



Surprisingly, one of the reasons fire departments are late to respond to emergencies is because no one actually bothers to complain. “Our public is a little reluctant because of litigation. People don’t want to call emergency lines because they don’t want their cell phone numbers to become part of the complaint. In the USA, letters of appreciation are given to those who aid in these situations, and we need to similarly bring the public on our side. Unfortunately, our own public knows the American emergency number of 911, but few know of our own national emergency numbers,” he says.

Fire departments are also often accused of selling expensive resources, such as foam to earn money on the side, leaving responders empty-handed during emergencies. As a retort to this, Jadoon displays his station’s storage room, which boasts many barrels of foam available to the KPT fire department in case of an emergency.



Similarly, at times they are also accused of charging an unfair fee for services rendered, thus profiteering from tragedy. Jadoon is adamant that this isn’t true. He admits that KPT is one of the few fire stations that make a profit but not at the expense of others. “There are people who say that we deliberately ignore hazardous situations so that we can profit from it later, and this is not true. We are always vigilant, often remedying situations in the area before it could lead to a loss of life.”

Soldier on

The challenges of the profession outweigh the return by a far mile, but for these flame whisperers, it is the only life they know. M. Yousuf, the station house office at KPT fire station realises that the job is a tough one but takes pride in his team’s dedication. “Recently, during Eid, there was a fire nearby where we had to break a wall to reach the hazard and it took many hours to control the situation. In the end we were unable to spend Eid with our children, but for us, duty comes first.”

Noman Ansari is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to several publications. He tweets @Pugnate 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, January 26^th, 2014.