MARGAO
Every time Sonsodo is engulfed by fire, firemen rise to the occasion, braving the hazardous gases released in the air by the burnt plastic and other waste, to bring the fire under control.
Sometimes, they battle it out for long hours on the mound of plastic waste, sans food and water, just to ensure the fire and smoke is capped as early as possible and people inhabiting the adjoining areas are protected from the hazardous smoke.
Friday’s fire incident was no different for the Margao fire brigade led by Fire Officer Gill D’Sa and the firemen, requisitioned for duty from the Curchorem and Ponda fire stations as these unsung heroes put their heart and soul in the firefighting operation to bring the fire under control within two hours. And, when the fire re-surfaced at Sonsodo later in the night, they all left the Margao fire station again to head to Sonsodo to bring the fire under control.
While the fire-fighting operation is part and parcel of the duty of these firemen, the fire-fighting team appeared hurt over the blame game resorted by the powers that be that fire, which had occurred near a nearby school around noon, later spread to the Sonsodo dump.
Says Fire Officer, Gill D’Sa: “We find no logic behind this blame game when the fire personnel had put off the fire near the school in the afternoon. We braved through the gas and poisonous smoke to bring the fire under control, but instead of receiving bouquets, we had to contend with brickbats in the form of blame game.”
He added: “Those who have made irresponsible statements that the fire has spread from the school to the Sonsodo, did not even bother to care for the firemen, whether they had water to drink and food to eat. The entire team had to breath and eat smoke and gas since the fire was deep seated.”
Gill pointed out that garbage fire is different from normal fire since methane gas is released during the process, aggravating the fire-fighting operation. “Gases such as the poisonous carbon monoxide, Nitrogen Sulphide and other harmful gases are released due to the fire, but the firemen braved all these gases during the operation with a single moto to bring the fire under control,” he added.
