The Hindu : Front Page : They battled the flames

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Sunday, Nov 30, 2008
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They battled the flames

Mumbai: Rushing to the call of duty despite having no protection against the terrorists’ bullets, personnel from the city’s fire brigade had a harrowing three days while combating fires at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels and Nariman House.

“There were some pretty scary moments while we were fighting fires at the Taj Hotel. On Thursday night, while we were in a cage trying to rescue guests trapped in the heritage section of the hotel, we saw a gun-toting terrorist,” A.V. Sawant, Chief Fire Officer, said.

“Luckily for us, he did not turn in our direction and we continued fighting the fire,” Mr. Sawant said. The fire brigade was called in to battle fires multiple times at the Taj and Oberoi hotels.

“They [the terrorists] kept setting the rooms on fire while fighting the commandos. We would wait for an assurance from the commandos before going in,” Mr. Sawant said.

However, the sound of firing did not make it easy for them, he said. “It was not easy to work in such conditions. There is a risk while fighting fires but in this case there was the added risk of bullets,” a fireman said.

There was the added problem of not being able to enter the building, which made our task more difficult, he said.

Earlier this week, fire service officials spent tense moments at the Nariman House in Colaba, where terrorists threw grenades from the residential building apparently to cause an explosion at the petrol pump below the structure. — PTI

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