Duty before family for firefighters in Ludhiana

Around 102 firefighters were deployed on both day and night duty on Saturday.

At a time when people celebrate the festival of lights with their family and friends, 102 firefighters were on toes to keep city residents safe.

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Around 102 firefighters were deployed on both day and night duty on Saturday, while 70 were stationed at different fire stations during the night and 15 extra drivers were deputed on fire duty on Diwali night to ensure that no untoward incident mar the celebrations of city residents.

Sub fire officer (SFO), Navrang Singh said, “Our workload increases manifold on Diwali as a large number of fire incidents are reported every year. I have two daughters and they understand that I have to sacrifice festivals to save the lives of people. I stay in touch with them via video call.”

For Simranjit Singh, who has been working as a firefighter for the last ten years, duty comes first. “On Saturday, I was on duty till 10 pm and reached home at around 11 pm. The celebrations were over till then, but my family members were waiting for me to come home. We spent some time together and on Sunday morning I was back on duty,” he said.

The firefighters said that their families understand their sacrifice and now it has become the new normal for those whose sons have also joined the fire brigade.

Sub fire officer Atish Rai said, “My father was an SFO in Ludhiana and I have been celebrating Diwali without him for 21 years and now my family is celebrating the festival of lights without me for the last 15 years.”

Jaswinder Singh who is deputed as an SFO in Ludhiana has been given the additional charge of the Phagwara fire brigade. Singh said, “I was in Ludhiana till around 10:30 pm on Saturday and went to Phagwara to take stock of the situation. Then again, I reached Ludhiana at around 3 am as a large number of fire incidents were being reported here. Being at the fire stations during Diwali is a normal thing for us.”

Mayor, municipal commissioner laud fire brigade personnel

For applauding the efforts put in by the fire brigade especially during Diwali, mayor Balkar Sandhu, municipal commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal, joint commissioner Kulpreet Singh, councillor Rakesh Prashar among others conducted a meeting with firefighters at fire brigade headquarters on Saturday afternoon. Sandhu said, “Fire personnel does a commendable job and the government is also working to upgrade the fire brigade with modern technology and equipment.”