KOLKATA: He was jolted awake by a phone call around 2.45am on Sunday. But instead of getting unsettled, veteran volunteer Bipin Ganatra jumped out of bed and dressed for ‘work’. It was an SOS call from a trader in Bagri Market , asking him to rush to the spot.Ganatra, who keeps his long boots and yellow helmet by his bed, immediately slipped into his fire-fighting gear and rushed out of his Sagar Dutta Lane home. Without waiting for a taxi or an auto, the 60-year-old sprinted for over two kilometres to reach Bagri Market. But even the veteran of several infernos stopped in his tracks when he spotted the flames.“I have grown up in this area and am aware of what type of goods are sold in these markets. The moment I reached, I knew that dousing this fire will be one of the most challenging tasks of my career. It is a very busy market which deals with extremely flammable goods,” he said.Ganatra was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017 for his selfless dedication towards helping the common people and government agencies in rescue work during fire and other disasters.The first tender reached the spot almost at the same time as Ganatra. “I informed the officer about the market and the nature of goods that might be stored inside, after which he requisitioned more fire tenders,” Ganatra said.But even before backup arrived, Ganatra jumped into action. After pushing onlookers away from the building, he set out to spot signs of people trapped inside. “I went around the entire place ,shouting out for people who could be trapped. Once I was sure that everybody had left safely, I returned to the fire tenders and started helping with the firefighting operation,” he said.For the next nine hours, the ace fireman aimed water jets at the blazing building, climbed the ladder to break windows on the first floor and helped manoeuvre fire tenders.“This area is severely fire prone. I don’t understand why people don’t learn any lesson. Whenever I meet my friends and acquaintances I request them to be more aware of fire safety,” Ganatra said before taking a break at12.30pm. He was back at the spot at 3.30pm with renewed vigour.For over three decades, Ganatra has been on the forefront of carrying out rescue operations during big fires. He has dashed into several infernos without any protective gear, rushed burn victims to hospital and helped people with his meagre earning as an electrician. Ironically, his application to the fire department for a permanent job has been pending for the past decade.

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