The psychological wounds borne by the 60 firefighters who responded to the devastating inferno at the Birch by Romeo Lane club in Arpora may prove deeper and more lasting than any physical injury. Regardless of the findings from the high-level inquiry or the eventual pursuit of justice for the victims, the memories of that night are permanently etched into the minds of the first responders.
A Scene of Silent Horror
Firefighter Vishnu Gavas, who along with Swapnesh Kalangutkar were the first to breach the smoke-filled staircase, described a haunting scene. "I still see the flames when I close my eyes, but it’s the silence of the bodies that haunts me more," Gavas revealed. The initial sight that gave them goosebumps was the charred remains of two women who had made a desperate attempt to flee.
However, the true scale of the tragedy lay further inside. On the ground floor, beneath the debris of what was once a vibrant nightclub, the team discovered 23 victims piled on top of each other. In an instinctive act of hope, the firefighters checked each one for a pulse, praying for any flicker of life. There was none.
Operational Challenges and a Hollow Victory
The operational challenge faced by the team was immense. Director of Fire and Emergency Services, Nitin Raiker, and Assistant Divisional Officer (North Zone), Bosco Ferrao, detailed the response. With the club fully engulfed by 11:55 PM, the team had to bridge an 80-meter gap with hoses, drawing water from a nearby salt pan to combat the blaze.
While they succeeded in bringing the fire under control in record time and prevented it from spreading to neighboring structures, the victory felt hollow. "We are trained to save lives, but that night, we were only there to recover the fallen," a senior official stated somberly. The investigation revealed that the victims, trapped by a locked rear exit and a complete lack of ventilation, had succumbed to suffocation long before the intense heat reached them.
The Lingering Cloud of Regret
Despite their professional execution in extreme circumstances, a profound cloud of regret hangs over the firefighters from the Mapusa, Pilerne, Panaji, and Porvorim stations. Their efforts, though heroic, could not alter the tragic outcome for the 25 individuals who lost their lives. The incident underscores not just the physical dangers of firefighting, but the severe psychological toll such traumatic events extract, leaving scars that are invisible to the eye but deeply felt in the memory.
