Mumbai needs at least 250 fire stations, not 33
Thomas Von Essen, New York Citys fire commissioner during the 9/11 attack, gives Nilesh Nikade and Sudhir Suryawanshi his take on disaster management in the city
Thomas Von Essen, New York Citys fire commissioner during the 9/11 attack, gives Nilesh Nikade and Sudhir Suryawanshi his take on disaster management in the city
Thomas Von Essen was New York Citys fire commissioner when tragedy stuck the World Trade Centre on 9/11 was in the city for a couple of hours after attending the Fire Advisory Council meet organised by Underwriters Laboratories in Goa. He spoke to Mumbai Mirror about the disaster management situation in Mumbai.
Can you recollect 9/11 and how your men dealt with it?
None of us could plan for two passenger planes colliding with two towers at the speed of 600 km per hour. Young men in my team were very excited, but the old fellows appeared a bit tensed. A hundred and two minutes after the attack, the twin towers collapsed and we had rescued over 16,000 people by then. For three weeks, we kept digging debris, hoping to find someone alive, but found none.
In Mumbai, we have 33 fire stations for the population of 10 million and have an annual budget of 100 million for the disaster management projects. Do you think it is sufficient?
The firemen in Mumbai should be praised that they are managing with such a small strength. The city with such a huge population should have at least 250 fire stations, so that they can reach a fire site within minutes. Also, I saw roads here are very congested and have huge traffic. The fire brigade needs to adopt equipment like fire scooters in Mumbai. I cannot believe that the firemen here do not have insurance.
We find safety norms exploited at many places in our city, how do you regulate them in the US?
The upcoming buildings have very strict rules and regulations about safety. The number of hydrants, sprinklers for a particular area is standardised by the government. The construction is immediately stayed if violation occurs. We face a problem maintaining the old buildings and they are checked by the fire brigade authorities at regular intervals.
Can the highrises be made fireproof?
In New York, highrises are more than 50 years old, but in Mumbai they are just sprouting. People here are yet to get familiar with precautions they have to take in highrises. In the US, schools, malls, hospitals and other public places often carry out fire drills, so that authorities can keep a check. During construction, architects should strictly follow National Building Code set up by the Bureau of Standards in India.
Mumbai often faces problems like flood during rains, how can such situations be avoided?
I am no expert on floods. In the US, the fire department does not deal with flood-like situations. I salute Mumbai firemen, who carry out all kinds of tasks with such low resources. Still, I would suggest the authorities establish a separate disaster management team other than fire brigade to take care of such incidences.
What role will FAC play about creating safety standards?
Experts from various fields related to fire safety gathered at FAC in Goa and created a guideline for fire safety at various places. This will be put on the internet soon, so that citizens can access it. Also, we will get training videos for firemen here, so that they learn the best fire-fighting techniques.