Coronavirus Update: Mumbai Fire brigade sets up quarantine facility for its frontline staff

Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) sets up Covid Care Centre 2 (CCC2) (for Asymptomatic positives and those with mild symptoms) for its officers and staff. The 30-bed capacity facility has been set up at the MFB's Byculla Command Centre.

The move comes at a time when the Mumbai Fire Brigade lost one its personnel on Sunday of suspected Covid 19. Fireman Umesh Gonga, a suspected covid patient was denied admission at JJ hospital on Saturday. Sadly Gonga died on Sunday a few hours after he was rushed there again.

"It is sad and unfortunate that someone died after being denied admission to the hospital. We don't know what went wrong. We are awaiting Gonga's covid 19 test. This is not the time to blame anybody but work on to help people around us. We have taken this step to become self-sufficient. The move will help officers and staff working on the frontline," Chief fire officer of MFB, Prabhat Rahangdale told The Free Press Journal.Gonga, who was involved in fumigation work is the first casualty from Mumbai fire brigade officials confirmed. Gonga, who was detected with typhoid was on leave from May 16. After he had bouts of diarrhoea and fever on Saturday his family took him to JJ hospital, where doctors refused him admission and sent him back home after prescribing typhoid medicines. As he had a high fever on Sunday, relatives took him to JJ hospital again. After an ECG and X-ray, doctors put him on Oxygen support but he died within hours. Gonga was involved in fumigation work until he went on leave from May 16.

Currently, as many as 29 staff of MFB including firemen and fire officers of MFB have been tested positive till date. "Of these 29 staff, few are even admitted to ICU. This facility will help us with early detection if our staff reports mild symptoms and help us keep them away from the community. Majority of our staff live in clusters or in staff quarters it leads to risking their and their families lives. We have other places too like Marol and Borivali centres, where we can set up similar centres if need be," added Rahangdale.