25 playgroup kids in Adilabad’s Vidyanagar neighbourhood (Telangana) escaped a close shave with death, thanks to a constable and a hockey team coach!
On Friday, when about 20 students were inside the classroom, and the others were playing outside, a fire broke out at the premises of a play school.
According to The Hindu, the real cause behind the fire is unknown, but it is being speculated that a short circuit in a water cooler may have started it.
Panic set in when the fire quickly spread and caught the furniture in one of the classrooms.
All the kids in this playschool are below four years. While the students kept playing outside and others carried on with their classes, the space was soon filled with smoke.
It was at this time that two passersby decided to risk their own lives to safely evacuate the students from the school, promptly supported by the teacher.
According to the report, the smoke first caught the attention of Adilabad Armed Reserve constable B David Raj, as well as T Kiran, a hockey player who is also the coach of the Nalgonda hockey team. The hockey team was in the town for a tournament.
Looking at the smoke, the two men immediate flung into action. Another individual who gave them the desperately required support was Rubina Firdoss, the play school teacher.
The trio kept their calm and slowly and safely evacuated all the students out of the classroom and the school building.
“I saw smoke billowing out of the windows of the playschool and instinctively broke in. I can say the sportsman in me drove me to plunge into the fire and blinding smoke,” constable B David Raj told the publication. He brought the children out of the classroom and handed them to Kiran.
The parents, who broke out in a cold sweat, expressed their gratitude to the trio after being reunited with their children. They also expressed their utter disappointment at the delay in the arrival of the fire brigade, which is hardly 200 metres away from the school.
READ MORE: Gurugram High-Rise Fire: Brave Mom of 4-YO Saves Many Before Suffocating to Death
Speaking to The Hindu, Fire Officer-in-charge, Ch N R Kantha Rao, said that their entire crew and one fire tender were not at the fire station but at a demonstration of firefighting methods for students of an educational institute a kilometre away which led to the delay.
“But we rushed to the spot on getting information,” he said.
While the justification may not be fair considering a major tragedy could have threatened the lives of 25 kids, let us commend the quick-thinking and actions of David, Kiran and Rubina!
(Edited by Shruti Singhal)
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