N Priya Ravichandran’s average day looks like this. Work starts at 9.30am, when she checks office files and letters, signs documents and instructs her subordinates on field work. By noon, she starts visiting the fire stations in the city for inspection, and post-lunch, she attends mock drills that are conducted in IT companies, schools and colleges. Her afternoons are spent in a meeting with her director and other fire engine officers. And if during the course of this day, an accident occurs, Priya is on her toes to the spot, along with her team.Hailing from Salem, Priya began her career as the divisional officer of southern Chennai and became the first fire woman officer in 2003. Working from her office in Ashok Nagar, she also attends awareness programmes. “I’ve been doing this job for seven years, solely for the satisfaction I get from saving lives,” she says, as she gets ready for a mock drill session. The location is somewhere on OMR, where her team of firemen have already started training the IT employees of a small software company. Mock drills are conducted for the public, to inform them of the immediate safety measures they can take at the time of an accident.“The aim is to provide people with extensive details on how to handle an alarming situation that arises out of an accident,” says Priya, getting into her personal protection suit and white cap. “Usually, we conduct three to four mock drills at different IT companies in the city.” At first look, Priya could easily pass off as a 20-something woman, who’s just graduated from college. That’s only until she confesses with a chuckle, “I’m married and have two daughters.” After completing UG in corporate secretaryship, Priya completed MA and MPhil in sociology. That’s when she went a step ahead and decided to write the exam for Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission’s Group. “I saw a lot of women in Chennai who opted for higher studies, computers, medicine and finance. And I felt I stood a better chance of getting a job in a totally different field, more so, because fire engineering was something a woman had never done before. I guess I wanted something that challenged me,” elaborates Priya.In Chennai, Priya has done everything in her training module that her male counterparts have. “At first, the men were sceptical. They thought there was no way I would be able to do it, but I proved them wrong. I wasn’t even afraid of my first real fire incident (2004). I was ready for the job when the call came,” she states with pride. According to Priya, her job is to provide people with substantial information related to fire and security. “Fire doesn’t kill you, it only leads to smoke. But it’s the panic that affects you mentally and physically,” she points out. Priya is referred to as a tough taskmaster by her subordinates, but off-duty, you’ll find her smiling from ear-to-ear. “As an officer, public safety is a priority. People’s lives are important and we are responsible for it. When I joined the fire department, I had a two-month-old baby. My mother-in law and husband were very supportive when I was away from home,” she recalls. But it’s also a job that encompasses a whole lot of duties. “Fire officers have no specific timing like firemen. We have a target of nine stations to be inspected by the end of the year. We also have a lot of auditing and meetings with the director. Sometimes, we make surprise visits to stations and ensure that the firemen are able to get ready within 20 seconds.”Do fire accidents affect her emotionally? “There is no place for emotions. I have an important job to do within a short span of time. Of course, witnessing people lose their lives can be disturbing,” she says.Among the incidents that have brought her laurels was the rescue call in Coimbatore in 2004, exactly one year after her entry into this field. “We rescued seven people from a collapsed building. It was one of the first major rescue calls for me.” Priya recalls another incident, “There was a severe accident in north Chennai in 2007. A chemical storage house had caught fire, leading to the spread of chemical fumes throughout the city. Putting down the fire was difficult, as we had no clue of the chemicals that were stored. Thankfully, no lives were lost.” More recently, in 2010, Priya and her crew had saved a cancer patient admitted in GH, when the hospital had caught fire. “He was undergoing radiotherapy. That was also a major incident that brought me laurels,” recalls Priya.It is 5pm and Priya is back to her cabin and sits down with a cup of coffee, when her mobile phone rings. It is an announcement for an impromptu meeting with the director, and she briskly leaves, without a word of complaint.
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