The last time the fire fighters of Thane were trained in rescue from building lifts was 20 years ago, in 1989. Despite the advances in technology and elevator systems, the last two decades had seen no training for these firemen to rescue others or themselves if found trapped in a lift.

The six firemen who died of asphyxiation after being trapped in a building lift early on Sunday morning had practically no idea how to react when their lift stalled. However, the absence of training facilities and refresher courses is only one of the several problems faced by the fire department of the satellite city, home to 16 lakh people over an area of 149 sq km.

As per norms, there should be a fire station for every one lakh people in urban areas. Thane’s five fire stations are already under tremendous pressure with their total strength of 256, including 170 firemen, 25 drivers and 36 leading firemen. Chief Fire Officer Vijay Vaidya says that discounting the 10 per cent staff on account of leave and other reasons, what remains is barely enough to run the show in the city.

Complaints of fire tenders arriving late are common. “The reason fire tenders are rushed from several fire stations is because there are no sufficient number of drivers at a given fire station,” said Vaidya. He said recruitment in small numbers will not help and only doubling of manpower would make a difference. Also, while Mumbai’s firemen have periodically been provided with equipment upgrades and new uniforms, the last time Thane’s firemen got uniforms from their department was two years ago.

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