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Kalbadevi blaze: Mumbai chief fire officer Sunil Nesarikar loses two-week battle for life

Chief Fire Officer Sunil Nesarikar had suffered third-degree burns during the Kalbadevi fire-fighting operation on May 9.After battling for life for over two weeks, chief fire officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade Sunil Nesrikar (50) breathed his last on Sunday at the National Burns Centre (NBC) in Airoli, the fourth fire officer to die in the Kalbadevi fire incident.

Nesrikar had suffered 50 per cent burns during operations to fight the fire that broke out on May 9 at a building in Kalbadevi. He passed away at 3.30 pm.His colleagues recall the chief fire officer’s passion for fitness, and yoga, his sound technical knowledge, decision-making skills and desire to bring innovations in the fire brigade. Civic officials who were sure he would recover and return to his post in about six months were shocked at his demise.

Officials at NBC said that post-mortem reports indicate multiple organ failure. Dr Sunil Keswani from NBC, who operated on Nesrikar, said, “His organs started giving in one after the other in a period of 18 hours. He was supposed to undergo a skin graft operation on May 19, but that was delayed as he was suffering from high fever. His condition kept deteriorating and he was on ventilator.”

On getting the news of Nesrikar’s death, fire officials rushed to the hospital. At 6.30 pm, Nesrikar’s wife Jayshree was spotted being helped into a sedan by her son Sidhant, who tried to console her. Her screams pierced the silence of the hospital. Nesrikar is also survived by his mother.

Nesarikar and three other fire officers – Sudhir Amin, M N Desai and S W Rane – were caught in the debris when a part of the building that had caught fire in Kalbadevi collapsed. Desai and Rane died before getting medical attention. Amin died a week later at the burns centre in Airoli.

Nesrikar, who was bachelor of science with specialisation in chemistry, had done a specialised course along with his fire brigade batchmates in London, after 10 years in service. Nesrikar was also nominated for a President’s medal for his efforts during the Lotus Business Park incident in 2014.

Recalling the Business Park fire, Sanjay Deshmukh, additional municipal commissioner, who heads the fire department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), said, “He showed great courage during the Lotus incident. He was the one who climbed almost 22 floors to save his colleague, while combating the fire. He was a motivating person and a thorough gentleman. It is a huge loss for the brigade.”

Nesrikar has also received a “Rajat Padak” from the Municipal Commissioner for the rescue efforts he undertook during the 2013 Dockyard Building Collpade and the 2002 house collapse incident in Senapati Bapat Marg.

Born in 1964, Nesrikar hailed from the Kolhapur district in Maharashtra and completed his schooling in Vasai, Mumbai.

His demise comes as a shock to senior civic officials and colleagues in the fire department who expected Nesrikar to return healthy and take charge in the next six months. Even though mass promotions are on at the department, the charge of chief fire officer was kept vacant for Nesrikar, sources said.