Memoirs Of a Special Child: Fighting The COVID Fire

Contribution of Fire and Rescue Services, MC, Chandigarh during COVID-19.

1. All leaves and weekly rests were restricted in wake of COVID-19, and the Fire Service was deployed round the clock to handle Fire and Rescue operations in the City and nearby vicinity.

2. Sanitization of public places was carried out by the Fire and Rescue Services, MCC to disinfect the City.

3. Fire Service officials were deployed on CTU buses to supervise the adequate supply of Fruits and Vegetables in various sectors of the city during lockdown.

4. The daredevil officials of Fire Service are engaged to carry out the Home Quarantine of the Contacts of Positive Corona Cases, Negative Cases and those who are arriving at Chandigarh from other states.

Yes...they not only give fire a ferocious fight, but now they are also combating COVID with all their might!

In the second interview of the series #SALUTINGTHESUPERHEROES, let us meet Mr. Anil Kumar Garg, Additional Commissioner-cum-Chief Fire Officer, PCS (Nodal Officer Contact Tracing and Quarantine COVID-19). A man who is at the helm of all these efforts, leading from the forefront in fighting this fire of despair.

Q: What was the biggest challenge you came across as a COVID19 Frontline Warrior?

Ans: Nowadays, I am primarily looking after areas of contact tracing and quarantine. People with both higher and lower risk rate are getting quarantined. But the latter are the ones, who besides being positive have Primary, Secondary and Social contacting. Primary contacts are a great threat to the people within their vicinity. Therefore, in order to undertake the task of contact tracing and quarantining effectively, it became imperative that the workforce on board was highly motivated and willing, which was quite a challenge.

Q: How does this contact tracing really works? What are the key factors you keep in mind while undertaking it?

Ans: The first thing we do in contact tracing is to have a telephonic conversation with the positive patient, providing them moral support and counseling. After obtaining information like; where did they go? Whom they came in contact with? What all they did during that time period? etc, our ground team simultaneously visits the friends and family members of the patients in order to verify their versions. Then we quarantine all those who came in contact. Even after the verifications, if we feel that there is still something more to it and the patient is not co-operating properly, we trace their calls, locate the mobile tower, get the call log and talk to people he or she contacts frequently. But during the whole process, we ensure full secrecy of the patients, as people regard it as defamation which is not true. It is just an illness and not a stigma.

Q: Your fire department has a taken this unique initiative of bringing smile on the face of kids as well as homeless people who cannot celebrate their birthdays due to this outbreak. Tell us something about it.

Ans: Since lockdown was going on and there was nobody to cheer them up on their special day, we decided to take up this initiative. So whenever we got to know about these birthdays through newspapers, social media, friends and relatives of the person, we made sure to make the day special and once in a lifetime event for them. Our team used to go around singing ‘Happy Birthday’ on PA (Public Announcement) System, making the birthday a well known fact for the whole locality, and wishing that person with a homemade cake.

Q: How was the response?

Ans: The initiative got a lot of appreciation from everyone. People felt thankful and cared for during these testing times. After all, even a small moment of happiness can make a big difference.

Q: Your message for other COVID fighters?

Ans: My only message would be that one should keep serving the humanity and our respective nations. If we continue to work with utmost passion and perseverance, we will definitely win over corona.