“Fire, fire,
Fire burns my desire.
How can I fly higher?
When, I’m covered with fire.”
This is a snippet from the poem ‘Flaming Heart’ by Nastasshea Rozario.
This was the condition of each and every child who was killed by fire in the Kumbakonam.
I had read an editorial which was about the terrible inferno that took place at a school in Kumbakonam village, which killed approximately 90 children.
This was a terrible inferno that had taught everyone a painful lesson in fire safety. The scenes of tragedy have still remained etched on our minds and will continue to haunt every time we see a school or a public building.
It was a mater of deep concern and shame that the children of Kumbakonam had to pay for the short-sightedness of adults with their lives. People all over the world were disheartened about this tragedy. They were worried if the school authorities have fire safety equipments installed in the premises, and an alert and well-trained staff to tackle an emergency.
Such tragedies are waiting to happen else where too, and it is high time that we as citizens, should shed out apathetic attitude towards fire safety.
It is good to have a communal awareness drives on fire safety, but at the same time it is very important to implement them too. Apart from the safety measures at macro level, it is necessary that the children and parents are made aware of the potential fire hazards, not only in schools and workplaces, but even in homes.
Life is precious and it is necessary that we do all we can to prevent another Kumbakonam from happening. Now it is the time we citizens shed our indifference to safety systems.
