Unsung heroes: Heroic deed of firefighting gets little recognition

Rescues 1122 officials say department is equipped with all modern apparatus.

RAWALPINDI:

The use of the word hero becomes synonymous with some professions, and firefighting is no exception.

Though firefighters put their own lives at risk to save life and property of others during emergencies, their heroic deed gets little recognition in the end.

Despite vivid memories of the 2008 Gakkhar Plaza fire — where 15 ill-equipped firefighters lost their lives — officials of the Punjab Rescue Service 1122 are determined to carry out their mission under any circumstances. But after that disastrous incident, the department has now been provided with modern equipment, and the officials seem to be satisfied with the arrangement.

“It would be fair to say that our high ups learnt a lesson from that episode and don’t want to lose more staff,” Ihsan, a rescue official, told The Express Tribune.

The officials claimed that they now have all the same equipment available to emergency services units in developed countries.

Equally, citizens have no qualm in paying tribute to the heroes in green uniforms.

“Whenever a disaster strikes, we find no one but these firefighters. They not only save humans in distress, but also respond to calls when it comes to saving animals,” said Shoaib Salman, a resident of Lal Kurti.

Shah Khalid, a resident of Babu Mohalla Saddar, said gone were the days when people had to shift victims to hospitals themselves and then run around to get cases registered at police stations.

“They are the real servants of the nation who never get late to reach to an accident site instantly,” Khalid said.

During the last two months, the 1122 emergency service rescued over 3,500 stranded people and responded to 80 fire calls besides attending to over 500 road accidents in less than 10 minutes, according to the officials.

According to them, in the last decade, the emergency service handled 35,211 road mishaps, 4,040 fire incidents, 87 building collapse cases, 1,876 crime accidents, 147 drowning cases and 33 bombings, besides providing services to 83,727 patients.

“They are the real heroes and deserve more praise. We all thank these unsung heroes,” said Absar Muhammad, a resident of Waris Khan.

With round-the-clock duty, though one can see the sign of exhaustion on their faces, the firefighters, however, complained about lack of cooperation from the masses.

“When people call, most of the time they don’t provide exact information about the nature of the accident,” said Muhammad Waqas, a rescue official. If the first responders know what exactly the emergency is, they can send the appropriate response staff.

He urged the masses to provide complete information so that the required service could be made available accordingly.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2014.