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Mr.P J Joseph has sent a mail on Auguest 03,2005 .He has given some use ful suggestions to our department . His letter  is reproduced for the perusal of our other readers: 

    With the close frequency fire accidents, if I may, I suggest you consider first a change in the name as "Fire Prevention and Rescue Services" to ensure performance accountability of all the commercial establishments and others to follow the  concept "Core of Safety is Prevention as a prerequisite to human safety following the "Cradle to Grave" principle.  Fire Suppression systems are only damage control measures totally neglecting the relevance of all inclusive accuracy based risks essential for system design plus the quality.  Those escaping out of performance accountability should not be concealed by appointing committees. We have the best sample of July 16, 2004 at Kumbakonam.  It was a world news. Donations from political parties was lasvish in competition among the parties.  But did they go beyond to make a note of the reason for such a mass killing of 94 young  and innocent kids?  Did it provoke us to direct our inteligence to determine how to improve our public morality. According to me it was departmental issue to identify the conclusive contributing factors?  The committee took one year to give a report. Recently Railways for the Cheran Express accident with a sad casualty,  also appointed a committee, without investigating the functional responsibility of the Safety Commissioners. As I said earlier mainly in Paris area there are residential houses divided for storing chemicals including hazardous materials. Lack of preventive measures and maintenance can be easily identified how excellent are performance on the part of major industries like Simpson, TVS and others in the organised sector.  Is anyone concerned with the loss of water which is now our life. Exclusive residential societies are increasingly used by threats. I also suggest the Fire Service should have a partnership and co-operation of the associations of commercial and industrial establishments, etc. to share a part of your heavily loaded responsibility. Associations have equal social responsibility.

   The Associations can even request the support of Loss Prevention Association of India Ltd for a risk factor investigation of the existing systems. The equipments and components used also need to checked. This
include  illegal use of several items like fire extinguishers as per the latest news. To the best of my knowledge our BIS is only having a compartmentalised survival plan. BIS is aware of my observation.  I suggest NFPA 75 as a asic - supported by personal experience.  NFPA 75 is an excellent tool for evaluating an existing facility or planning a new facility. A fundamental requirement is performance accountability by all concerned. In the second Bombay Offshore Fire the Director (O) of ONGC responded to question from media on loss, saying with ease, the loss would be taken care of by Insurance. Today Insurance is in a dilemma why
they should exercise their primary responsibility to reject registration for illegal auto LPG before the RTOs.They are aware of the reasons I have shared with them during the last few years.

     Sir, Today we have increasing number of potential explosive atmospheres including Dust. The best example of preventive action for us to adopt is the EU countries.  Besides their countrywise responsibility, they collectively implemented a scheme for the Safety and Healthcare of the Workers with accountability for quality of equipments and components equally between the manafuacturer of the hardware and the end users.
This has been enforced from 1.7.2003. The Dust is categorised as D-20, D-21, and D-22 corresponding to Zone Zero, Zone One and Zone Two.  Is there any petroleum products carrying road tankers having a Spark Arrester first of eighteen precautionary measures?  CPCL will tell you the story. I developed one as per the internationmal standard and sent it to UK for tests by Lloyds Registry with a plan including for export. I knew from CCOE that he did not have the testing facility including for he  name sake product rented out by tea shops etc. But ours is held up for an approval in principle for the last 6-7 years. Now they have a skill to hear not appreciating the investment loss, time and energy wasted. We opted no compromise.
 

Mr.Sarat Shanmukh has congratulated me and our department for excellent performance during the rescue operations in tsunami relief operations . His letter and my reply to it are reproduced for the perusal of our other readers: 

    “I  was in India and left on the morning of the 26th from chennai, a few hours before the tsunami hit. I cannot describe the sense of frustration I feel at not being able to help my fellow countrymen at the time they need my help the most.

      I have been scouring the internet trying to find a way to contribute in some way to devising some kind of an emergency warning/evacuation system for the folks living close to the sea. I chanced on your department's website and I feel this is a wonderful forum to exchange constructive ideas that can help mitigate such disasters in the future.

I would like to be part of the Safety Volunteers scheme. Please do enrol me in this system and let me know in what ways I can contribute”

My reply to Mr. Sarat is meant for all our friends:

"Dear Sarat,

 It is nice of you to feel concern for your motherland, even while living so far away.  You are right when you say that it would be difficult to visualise the post-tsunami scene unless you were yourself on the spot.

As for your desire to help, the very fact that you felt concerned and took the time to write is a sort of help. I believe that ideas have power. That is why I welcome people joining us as Safety Volunteers even when they are living far away. I believe that the interaction of noble minds builds up a power.  

Could I know what is your area of specialisation?

Dogra."

                                        Thoughts on the morn of 2005

TSV Hari

Spare a thought, a tear, and a little more 

For those thousands buffeted and buried by brackish waters 

Wwas the tsunami just a natural calamity? 

Or a pointer towards to the  great deluge  

Before the final denouement?

At least survivors

Us

Why should Mother Nature be so angry with us 

To snatch babies from their cradles, youth at their peak of life 

The old and the infirm 

The strong, the weak,  

Those who are supposed to inherit the Earth

A retrospection can be done, 

Now, by us.

The terrible, black Boxing Sunday 

Is behind us 

Let us all channel our energies 

Help begin a new future 

To those who lost their near and dear, kith and kin 

Let us not be as unforgiving as the swirling waters 

Of the tsunami

Let us live and let live 

Forgive and remember 

That death, destruction and decimation can be sudden 

And arrive with so short a notice 

And be so vast to cover a an entire  continent

Let those who deal only in funerals 

Have a normal business

Let there be no further sights and of rotting cadavers 

No sites of stumps where homes proudly stood 

Let there be peace, happiness, plenty, 

And the fear of the unknown 

So that

We remain just good mortals 

And continue to have faith  

That truth will ultimately triumph

SV Sugumar has congratulated me for my handling of the live interview telecast in Podhigai Channel for “calm, humble listening to the questions of callers”. I am grateful to him. SV Sugumar has also sent a nice story which I wish to share with all our other SVs. 

“A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car.

Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study.  His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened the book and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.
 
He never contacted his father again for long long time.  Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business.   He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.

Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things. When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible,
just as he had left it years ago.
 
With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words ...PAID IN FULL.
 
How many times do we miss GOD's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?”