HYDERABAD, Dec 23: There is a growing disappointment among fire-fighters of Hyderabad as neither the provincial nor the district government has announced any compensation for the bereaved family of one of their colleagues who died in the line of duty in Tandojam on Friday.

The deceased fire superintendent, Inayatullah Rajput, served in the City Taluka Municipal Administration. He was in service since 1984. The official was a resident of unit-5 Latifabad and was laid to rest in a local graveyard. His relative Qari Kamran Ahmed said he left behind a widow, two daughters and two sons.

“He was the sole bread-winner for his family”, he said. He died while extinguishing fire in an oil tanker.

One of his colleagues, who accompanied him to the spot, told Dawn that Rajput had felt that the tanker would explode anytime.

“He sent his colleague Zakir to tell the men deployed on a fire tender, which was working close to the tanker, to maintain a safe distance”, he said. Shortly afterwards an explosion occurred, causing serious burn wounds to Rajput, he added.

“Punjab government has announced Rs2 million for those who were working in Ghakhar plaza, Rawalpindi fire fighting operation and had died under the debris but heirs of Rajput didn’t get a single penny,” observed another fire-fighter.

The disappointment among the employees appears justified keeping in mind the nature of the task they are supposed to perform every time amidst poor resources. People are quick to blame or react violently for a delay in the arrival of the fire brigade people but none realised difficulties fire fighters face in their routine work.

Barring two new small fire tenders for immediate rescue operation, other vehicles seemed to have outlived their utility. There are nine fire tenders, in all, which cater to fire fighting needs anywhere in the city and other districts like Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Jamshoro, etc., and of them four are at the disposal of the city, three for Latifabad and two for Qasimabad taluka.

In Latifabad the three vehicles include one which was given in 1964. Two vehicles were donated by the defunct KMC when it was led by Dr Farooq Sattar to the defunct HMC but one of them was burnt on December 27, 2007 during violence that broke out in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

It was on the official duty of the caretaker chief minister, Abdul Khaliq Halepoto, whose convoy was returning from Hatri. A mob intercepted the fire tender and burnt it completely on the bypass.

“Our vehicle was in duty of chief minister thus we claimed compensation from the provincial government but so far got nothing”, said Sabir Kaimkhani, taluka nazim Latifabad. He said that shortage of funds made availability of some essential goods difficult.

The one given to TMA city is off-road for want of maintenance. According to a senior fire-fighter, rules say that every fire tender must be fitted with a 1,000-feet delivery line (pipe) and with six firemen to effectively handle a situation if fire breaks out. It was only in Latifabad where fire tenders have 300 foot to 350 foot delivery line while fire tenders even don’t have that. They don’t have masks, gas cylinders, helmets and other protective gear.

In case of any fire incident in any street lane or congested locality, fire fighters get stuck up as to how to get access to the area because there are so many localities in Hyderabad district where accessibility for fire tenders becomes impossible. And the way commercial multi-storeyed plazas are being built in the city they find it hard to reach the upper stories with the small delivery line in case of a fire.

These articles are considered essential to make fire fighters comfortable during their work as it would lessen chances of any risks to their lives. Recently some heat-proof dresses were given to fire fighters and with this dress they could go nearer fire only to some extent and that too for a brief duration.

The city’s fire fighters argue that four tenders are required for a population of 600,000 adding that in addition to Fatima Jinnah road water reservoir; only one hydrant is recently built in unit-6 Latifabad for refilling purpose.

Hyderabad’s fire tenders reach even Nawabshah and Mirpurkhas, Jamshoro. A fire tender would be engaged in Gari Khuda Bux, Larkana on December 27 on emergency duty, which reflects the level of work Hyderabad’s fire tenders are burdened with.