NEW DELHI, India -- As the last of the 250-odd people trapped atop the smoke-filled Punjab National Bank headquarters came out unharmed in a seemingly providential escape on Wednesday evening, few realized that the flawless rescue resulted from the fire department’s biggest and most well-coordinated operation in nearly 20 years.
Delhi Fire Service sources told TOI that the operation to rescue people from the PNB building’s fourth floor started as soon as the first distress call was received at 4.40pm. Within 12 minutes, 17 more calls came, spurring teams at 11 fire stations into action. It took the firemen just under an hour to bring down 125 people from the hot roof.
Fire department chief AK Sharma said the rescue was a complex three-pronged operation. “We got a call at 4.40pm. Since it is a high-rise building, all the necessary equipment, like hydraulic platforms, ladders, lighting van and oxygen masks, was sent from the nearest fire station near Gurudwara Rakab Ganj. At first, five fire tenders were sent. But as we raised the risk level to medium, and then to medium-serious, fire tenders from as far as Prasad Nagar and Safdarjung Enclave came.”
Sharma said firemen put into practice lessons learnt from the AMRI Hospital tragedy in Kolkata. “We broke the windows on two sides to let the air in. One team was stationed at the monkey ladder on the fourth floor to help in evacuating people from the fourth floor to the terrace, and from there to the UCO Bank terrace. Two other teams handled the lifts. Another team worked on containing the fire from the ground to the second floors,’’ said Sharma, explaining that altogether seven teams were in action.
The PNB headquarters is said to have at least 1,500-2,000 people inside during work hours. “Since the building has many employees and they were stuck at various levels, the smoke log was raised to serious immediately,” Sharma said. This was the first time that the department used breathe analyzers in a rescue operation.
There was heavy deployment of men and machinery, including 23 fire tenders. “There were three operations running at the same time. One was at the façade of the building from where employees were being evacuated using hydraulic platforms and ladders. Another operation was being conducted on the terrace while the third was on to contain the fire,” said Sharma.
“Using shafts and monkey ladders that connected the fourth floor and the terrace, employees were evacuated from the UCO Bank building at the back of the PNB headquarters.”
