The past few weeks have shown the pivotal role played by the fire and rescue services personnel in saving thousands of lives in the aftermath of Cyclone Michaung in Chennai and its neighbouring areas and the unprecedented rain in the southern districts of the State.
Several senior fire and rescue services personnel told The Hindu that they had never experienced such a crisis in a career spanning decades. They never expected that the year-end downpour would turn life upside down in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.
District Fire Officer M. Manoprasanna said that though the department deployed several teams before the onset of the rain, the unprecedented flood that followed necessitated more personnel, vehicles and equipment to bring the situation under control.
“The forecast that we received was for a rainfall of 27 cm, which was normal for the district. But we ended up receiving 90 cm of rainfall – thrice what was expected,” he said.
Faced with such a situation, the department immediately roped in more teams from nearby districts such as Madurai, Tiruchi and Dindigul, taking the total strength to 360 personnel. In addition to this, four troop carriers, 19 boats, 16 mobile fire tenders, two emergency rescue tenders and five quick rescue vehicles were sourced from various districts.
“The situation that unfolded after water from the Thamirabarani was released from the dam was unimaginable,“ said V. Balakrishnan, a driver-mechanic of the Fire and Rescue Services Department.
Balakrishnan and his team were widely praised after a video of them rescuing two middle-aged men from floodwater at Arumuganeri went viral.
“Though they thought they could wade through the floodwater, they realised their mistake once they stepped into the water and were swept away by a strong current for a few meters,” he said.
“Fortunately, they managed to cling on to a tree and a pole. Making use of this opportunity, we rescued them with a rope,” Mr. Balakrishnan said.
“In my 22 years of service, I have never faced such a situation. As many areas are filled with trees and bushes, we never know what danger awaits us,” he added.
In all, the fire and rescue services personnel saved 5,447 people, including 2,546 men, 2,464 women and 437 children, and 638 animals in six days starting December 17.
Mr. Manoprasanna said the rescue personnel faced several hurdles, from poor mobile network to inaccessible roads. “We had to find alternatives.
An example was the situation in Eral and Authoor, where bridges were damaged, cutting off the areas on both sides.
To overcome this, the rescue workers had to reach out to the team on the other side of the river and ask them to reach the location on boats. As their boats were not sturdy enough to overcome the strong current, they had to use fishermen’s boats for the rescue operation, the official said.
The rescue operations not only demonstrated the fire service personnel’s ability to manage and overcome any situation, but also shed light on the challenges they were facing. Among them was the inefficient communications system in the department. When mobile networks failed, walkie-talkies plugged the communication gap. But since the department did not have its own walkie-talkies, it had to rely on the police, which led to delays, an official said.
Moreover, the vehicles used during the rescue operations were not modelled to pass through floodwater, which defeats the purpose of procuring such vehicles. Lorries and mini-trucks were used to transport people during the floods.
A senior official said that as new problems emerge, so should new solutions. “The 2015 Chennai floods showed us how inefficient our old vehicles were. New vehicles, designed to drive through floodwater, should be procured for the department, as we are likely to face such adverse weather events in the future,“ the official said.
