The Mumbai Fire Brigade — which provides 15 days’ training to lifeguards posted at city beaches encompassing life-saving techniques, first-aid, speed-boat driving, and management of drowning victims — has claimed that the training imparted by it is of international standards and based on best practices derived from the training its men received in the past from a Canadian firm.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade was replying to a Bombay high court directive on Thursday to BMC to ascertain qualifications of the instructor who had trained 89 of its lifeguards who come under the jurisdiction of the fire brigade. The court had ordered that if qualifications of the instructor were doubtful, the lifeguards should be re-trained.
Chief fire brigade officer P. Rahangadale on Friday told The Asian Age that Mumbai Fire Brigade jawans received life-saving training from a Canadian firm and on the basis of that training, the fire brigade department trained its lifeguards. “Training includes rapid intervention by speed crafts, basic life safety measures, first-aid, life-saving techniques, management of drowning victims etc.,” said Mr Rahangadale. “We also select those people who can swim 100metres within three minutes and 300 metres within 8 minutes. Further, we also tell trainees to do a 200metre sprint, followed by a 200 metre swim and again a 200 metre sprint,” he added.
The Asian Age spoke to a few lifeguards stationed at Juhu Beach on Friday. There were five lifeguards on duty.
Manohar Shetty, head of the Juhu lifeguards’ team, said, “Our training sessions were held at Girgaon Chowpatty, Juhu beach, and Mandwa beach. Fifteen days’ training was given to us and we were taught life saving techniques and how to drive speed boats.”
All lifeguards of Mumbai come under the fire brigade department which is why every lifeguard has to report to the nearest fire brigade station on a daily basis.
The BMC had demolished the shelter of the Juhu Beach Lifeguards’ Association where some 7-8 local boys used to rescue drowning people. In March this year, the civic body demolished their shelter and seized their equipment.
