There are many people in the world who do great things but some take it to a level that is never imagined. That is why they are called Legends and one of the Legends in Fire Safety Educators in India is Mr. MOIEZ AHMED. When I joined Usha Fire Safety in the year 2007, my Mentor Jagadish Adapa, a Legend himself, used to tell me to watch Moiez Ahmed in action and then you will understand what fire safety training is. I can still remember the day I met him in Hyderabad at a Fire Drill in an IT Company. Thousands of occupants had gathered in the fire drill and this man mesmerised them with his powerful oration. I was simply overwhelmed and became a very big fan of him.

I learnt the true meaning of passion by watching him. He is an individual who has dedicated himself to the cause of fire safety education and on a mission to make India Fire-Safe. First let me present his credentials before telling you more about him.

He holds a Diploma In fire engineering from National Fire Service College in Nagpur the only institution that offers Degrees and Diploma in Fire Engineering. After completing his diploma, he joined the Karnataka State Fire Services in 1971 and served for 29 long years till he took retirement voluntarily. He held many responsible positions and the prominent among them are :

Deputy Assistant Director of National Fire Service College.

Senior Instructor as Divisional Fire officer in R. A Fire Service College Bangalore.

Served as an N.C.C Instructor in the Indian Army and Instructor for the Karnataka State Home Guards for Civil Defence.

He has received the President’s medal for meritorious service in 1989 and 1998 and the Karnataka Chief Minister Medal in 1992.

In recognition of his services, the Karnataka state has made him the Chief Fire Warden of the Fire Services and he still serves in that capacity.

Though he has impressive credentials as a Fireman, his heart was always into educating people. There is no Fireman in India during his tenure in the fire services who is not trained by him. His passion found a calling after he retired and joined Usha Armour Private Ltd in Bangalore. Together with Mr. Jagdish and Jaysheel Adapa, the trio created a revolution in Fire Safety Training. Till date, he would have done 10000+ training sessions and still continues to do so. If at all I have been able to write it, it is because of them.

I always found it great to be in his company though they were very few. But just being with him gave you tremendous insights into the man who was so passionate about his work. I had gone to watch his training session in Bangalore and was sitting a little away from the crowd when he roared saying TOO FAR. He made me come forward and sit in front of him. After that, He told me that I had a lot to learn. After the session, he took me to the Brigade Road Fire Station and introduced me to Firemen who saved lives in a fire accident at Carlton Towers in Bangalore. Those moments spent with him are truly amazing for someone like me and shall always be in debt to that man. He used to have a lot of one liners for educators and few are reproduced as under.

People learn from cradle to grave, how they learn changes throughout the life.

Learn not to burn.

Effective fire and life safety educators are effective communicators.

It is not enough to tell people how to operate a fire extinguisher but tell them how to operate safely.

Open flame and naked light, in causing fire they find delight.

Faulty lines you often find, electric spark is seldom kind, better call a wireman bright for he will set it right.

There are many more like him who are unsung heroes and who do their job with passion, energy and selfless service. Leaders in the true sense who have inspired many a person like me. If at all Fire Drills and the post occupancy briefing are popular, it is because of people like Moiez Ahmed.

LONG LIVE THE MASTER OF THE FIRE DRILL, MR. MOIEZ AHMED.

See you all in my next blog till then, stay safe and be safe.

Seshadri Varadarajan
Mobile 9840814353.

Dear readers,

I know that every one of us is fighting the biggest crisis of mankind, the COVID 19 or the CORONA virus. All of us, wherever we are across the world, are in various stages of lock down and venturing out only to buy essential things for survival. We are fighting this battle by staying at Home but there are countless others who are fighting this war from the front, and are working round the clock to save us. They deserve gratitude and praise of the highest order from all of us.

If you are wondering is this a blog on Corona Virus, you are mistaken. This blog is a tribute to every FIREMAN who is fighting the battle of Corona along with everyone else. My tribute to them is to tell you all the History of Fire Service day in India

HISTORY OF FIRE SERVICE DAY —– INDIA.

The 14^th of April every year in India is celebrated as Fire Service day. When I tell the date to most people they immediately ask me what is so special about that day? What was the achievement of the firemen on that particular day? The day was one of the saddest events in the history of fire fighting. 66 firemen sacrificed their lives while fighting a fire and thus, the government of India has decided to call this year’s fire service day as MARTYRS DAY.

It was the year 1944 which was world war time. A ship by name S.SFORTSTIKINE belonging to the British Ministry of War and transport was docked in Mumbai city then known as Bombay. It contained 1395 tons of explosives, arms and ammunition.Under normal circumstances, the ship is not allowed to dock in the port but   the ship had a certificate Of Grave Urgency, hence it was allowed to dock. On 14^TH April around 2.00pm in the afternoon, smoke was noticed and the fire service was informed. They rushed to the spot to fight the fire but no one was aware what lay in store for them. Initially, they thought the fire was under control but it was not and more reinforcements were called and they too arrived. At 4.05pm there was a tremendous explosion in the ship and then all hell broke loose. All the nearby ships which were docked too were destroyed. The second explosion which occurred at 4.36pm shook the ship and went up 3000 feet high. The dock was on Fire for a few kilometres and the explosion was heard in many places.

336 people burned and 66 Firemen died. The number of injured was immense and even today there is no clear data of the number of deaths in this tragedy. Many Fire fighters were disabled and some of them lived to tell the tale to future generations. One such fire fighter was Mr. Meharvanjee who was 19 years old at that time. He recounted the tragedy many years later in an interview to a television channel.

Though late in the year 1968, the Government of India declared APRIL 14^TH as FIRE SERVICE DAY and the entire week is declared as Fire Service week. Let us all remember this date in the honour of all firemen who risk their lives to save ours. They are the unsung heroes of the society. I salute all the Firemen for their selfless service. Many today are joining the police or Armed forces but none prefers the fire services.

Continuing the tribute to the fire fighters I shall be writing about one of the legendary fire service personalities in my next blog. Until then, stay Home, stay Safe, in the fight against COVID-19.

SESHADRI VARADARAJAN.
9840814353.

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