CHENNAI: Monday did not dawn well for the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services personnel and employees of the Directorate of Social Welfare and Establishment. At the Ezhilagam complex, pain and anxiety were writ large on their faces as they struggled to come to terms with the losses brought on by the early-morning tragedy. While the firemen saw the inferno leave one of their colleagues dead and another fighting for life, the welfare staffers found years of toil reduced to ashes.The police, as usual, bandied their pet theory of “electrical short-circuit” as cause of the fire at the office of the Directorate of Social Welfare and Establishment, while rumours of rivalry among unions affiliated to different political parties on issues of promotion and arrears added fuel to the conspiracy claims. On one point, there was unanimity: That if the watchman of the building was on duty, the fire could have been noticed earlier.Assistant Commissioner of Police (Triplicane) S Senthil Kumaran said watchman Babu, who had to report for duty at 6 pm on Sunday, took off for Pongal without notice. It was Gaffoor Baig (40), guard of the front building, who saw the fire first. Waking past midnight on feeling irritation in the eye, he ran to the Anna Square Police Station and informed the cops, who then called the fire control room, sources said.If there was a sigh of relief on seeing the large firefighting unit arrive, things soon took a turn for the worse. Four personnel, including a senior fire officer, rushed into the building, which came tumbling down at the same moment. Lead fireman N Anbazhagan was killed and divisional fire officer Priya Ravichandran suffered serious injuries, raising questions on whether risk assessment was made before entering the building. “If a senior officer orders, we have to obey,” some firemen said.Fire and Rescue Services Director DGP Bholanath described the episode as an “unexpected accident”. Pointing to the abandoned wooden furniture and railings of the structure, a police officer rued it was a disaster waiting to happen. Social welfare department staff said the establishment wing was renovated only a year ago and the service records of all the employees were stored there.
Comments
0 comment