Kalbadevi blaze: Chief fire officer given guard of honour, laid to rest

Nesrikar had breathed his last at the National Burns Centre in Airoli on Sunday afternoon. Injured during operations to bring a fire under control on May 9 in a building at Kalbadevi, Nesrikar was the fourth fire officer to die in the incident.

Fire officials fondly remember Nesrikar as a highly motivating officer known for his friendly interactions with colleagues. His relatives recalled his genial nature and how he was always ready to help. He is survived by his mother, his wife Jayashree and 18-year-old son, Siddhanth.

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PS Sawant, a station officer with Borivali fire brigade, recalled the days he had received training from Nesrikar to enhance his firefighting skills. “He interacted cordially with all fire officers, including his junior officials. He was an extremely motivating person,” Sawant said.

Hemant Parab, assistant divisional fire officer at Byculla, who knew Nesrikar since his days of training in 1989, said, “He was technology savvy. His knowledge of the latest fire equipment was excellent. He wanted to introduce a lot of changes in the brigade after he took charge as the chief fire officer.”

Nesrikar is the fourth fire officer from the Byculla headquarters to die in the three weeks since the the May 9 fire at the building in Kalbadevi. Assistant divisional fire officer Sanjay Rane, station officer Mahendra Desai and deputy chief fire officer Sudhir Amin were the others. Injured during the firefighting operations when the building and burning debris collapsed, Rane and Desai died before they could get medical attention. Amin died on May 14 at the Airoli burns hospital.

The fire department has placed banners offering homage to the fire officers. A photograph of late station officer Mahendra Desai hangs in front of his empty cabin at Byculla fire station.

Nesrikar was the person who was consulted for anything in the family, one of his relatives recalls. “He was always there for us whenever we required any help. He took great care of his mother who is wheel-chair bound,” said a relative.

His son Sidhanth is in the second year of an engineering course at the Narsee Monjee College. On May 15, fire officer Amin was given the guard of honour and his body was carried in an open truck to the crematarium.

Nesrikar is the second fire officer in 10 days to be give last respects with a guard of honour. Incidentally, the last time a chief fire officer was given the guard of honour after his death was in 1977, when the chief fire officer was V V Rao. His body was taken in a truck to Shivaji Park crematorium.

neha.kulkarni@expressindia.com