Hats off, Rahul Bandal !

This fireman’s alertness averted a major fire accident on April 26th in Pisoli

Jigar Hindocha

Pune: “Saving people is our prime duty, whether it is an off day or a working day. If we get to know that a fire incident has happened then our first thought is always to provide help by reaching to the spot,” said fireman Rahul Bandal whose alertness helped avert a big fire incident on April 26 in Pisoli.

It was around 8 pm.  Rahul Bandal working with Pune Municipal Corporation was spending time with family at his village Wadachi wadi. Just then he received a call from a friend to inform him regarding a fire incident in Pisoli (2 km away from his town).
Although it was off duty,  Bandal actively responded to the call and reached the spot in seven minutes and immediately removed two cylinders from the house which averted a bigger fire accident. 

Without the help of the fire brigade, the fire was brought to control.
“Being from this locality, I knew the shortcut road to reach the destination. I reached within 5 to 7 minutes and with the help of people within eight minutes we managed to control the fire,” said Bandal who has been in service for the last 15 years.

“When I reached the spot, people were in panic mode and they were standing 500 metres away from the spot and they had kept their two-wheelers away. They did not know what to do in such a situation. Once I started an operation to control fire, few people came forward to help me. Had the other cylinders also caught fire then things would have been difficult,” added Bandal who is 42 years old.