Firemen gear up for monsoon rescue
Mumbai: The city’s firemen are getting ready for the monsoon. A team of ten firemen travelled all the way to Kolad, around 130 km from Mumbai, to undergo swift water-rescue training. The trained firemen will now impart training to a batch of 60 firefighters before the monsoon hits the city.
“We are gearing up for the monsoon. Our firemen underwent four to two days’ training in swift water-rescue which is important during the floods,’’ said chief fire officer A V Sawant of the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB). The training was carried out in collaboration with H2O Water Sports, based in Girgaum Chowpatty, that has set up India’s first Special Rescue Training Academy (SReTA) in the country.
hough the MFB already has 60 firemen trained in flood rescue, the Kolad training was undertaken to test their skills in swift water. “Flood rescue is different from sea rescue. In a flood, the water moves in high speed and it carries with it different types of currents and tides. So we needed to get training in flood-like situations, which was available in the waters at Kolad,’’ said assistant divisional fire officer Prabhat Rahangdale.
The firemen, most of whom were part of the rescue operations during the 26/7 deluge, were familiarised with the water currents and how to recognise danger during floods. Mass evacuation of people trapped in floods and in buildings in and around affected areas was demonstrated to the firemen.
The training that concluded on Sunday was conducted by specialists from the Canada-based International Rescue Instructor’s Authority (IRIA) that specialises in swift water rescue. It was divided into two parts—level 2 for operators and level 3 for technicians, who actually get into the water during a flood. The successful candidates were certified the Technical Director of IRIA James Lavelly, an expert in Disaster Response, who has served as an advisor to the States of California and Florida when these states were hit by a hurricane. UK-based Jeremy Hunter, a certified instructor and trainer also tested the firemen’s skills in rapid water.
H2O also sent 10 of its lifeguards, who have been known to rescue people drowning in sea at Marine Drive, to train at Kolad. “My boys are used to rescuing people in the sea. But flood rescue is a different ball game. Swift/rapid water rescue is considered the most dangerous among all rescue operations. My lifeguards will also be activated in case there is a flood in the city,’’ said Rajiv Somani, chief managing director of H2O.
CHOPPY WATERS: The training that concluded on Sunday was conducted by members from the Canada-based International Rescue Instructor’s Authority that specialises in swift water rescue