5 months after Tilak Nagar fire, residents’ association to form disaster management team

Five months after five senior citizens residing in a 15-storey residential building lost their lives in a fire at Tilak Nagar, the residents’ association conducted a 10-day fire and disaster management training workshop which ended on Saturday.

The office bearers of Tilak Nagar Residents Welfare Association (TNRWA) will now issue letters to 150 societies asking them to nominate two volunteers each to be part of a quick response team.

The workshop was attended by 10 members from the area, including women and youngsters.

The group received training on various aspects of disaster management, including first aid, crowd management and managing of casualties.

Madhu Kadam, an association member, who has been trained in civil defence, conducted the workshop. Kadam said he taught people how to use sarees and dupattas in lieu of rope, and showed them how to tie different types of knots in case of emergencies.

“These training sessions are absolutely necessary for women, children and senior citizens because they are at home most of the time. If they are trained, they cannot only save their lives, but those of others as well,” Kadam said.

The association plans to hold a second workshop soon following the success of the safety awareness rallies and camps held in six societies.

Nitin Nikam, president, TNRWA, said they held several meeting with civic officials, traffic police and the fire brigade to chart out remedial measures in case of emergencies.

“We had a mock drill in association with the fire brigade and traffic authorities. The concern in our area is that we used to earlier live in a chawl system where it was easy to reach out to people. With high rises coming up here, one does not really know what is happening in the other part of the area,” said Nikam.

Sneha Pathare, housewife, who attended the training, said it boosted her confidence.

“We were given basic information that we were not aware earlier. Such sessions will help prevent a major accident in the future. We will be able to help the whole colony once a proper quick response team is put in place,” she said.

First Published:
May 26, 2019 23:39 IST

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