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 14th 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 14TH 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 14TH 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.
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Excellent Sesha… I was not aware of the history behind this Great sacrifice of the Firemen on that particular day. Salutes to the unsung heroes. Thanks for writing and sharing this unknown to many like me.
Article tells us how April 14th was declared as Fire Service day
Good information air, thank you
Excellent one sir
My tribute to all the firemen . Thank you mr Seshadri for reminding the younger generation , what fire service day means .
Accidents have always brought us messages to teach us respect, empathetic values, and well-nurtured beliefs. I believe this article will give light to readers about firefighters. This article brought light to me to write about the front runners and thanks for the lead.
I think this blog itself is a tribute to all the firemen for their sacrifice. Good work sir👍
Saluting to all the brave hearts who have served relentlessly during that fatal event and who are still serving today. Thank you for reminding us about this day and to count our blessings once again for the service given by all the enforcements
Mind blowing article sir..salute to our
real heroes.
Firemen are the real unsung heroes. They risk their lives ( of course with good knowledge of the subject) to save people, beings and property.
They are unfortunately remembered only during the crisis at easily forgotten afterwards.
A best tribute would be to follow safe practices and ensure that there are no fire incidences due to our actions.
Avoid unsafe situations and unsafe acts.
Tragic , yet uplifting story . Looking forward to know more such reflections which will appeal to the readers and educate.
Firefighters are often under appreciated and under valued despite being brave first responders who risk their lives everyday to save others. Thank you for the mini history lesson on these brave warriors.
Good one. Salutes to all the firemen. Nice to know that April 14 is celebrated as Fire Service Day. Thanks for the information.
Excellent sir information
Hi Sheshadri
I thought of sending this message privately, but I couldnt find any contact email id.
A small correction on this topic. As you correctly mentioned that it is considered as ‘Martyrs Day’, its not the celebration of the fire services day, it is the “Observance of the Fire Service Day’
Thanks
Meghanath
Thank you Meghanath. Will make sure the errors do not repeat