At 55, S. Egaraj was a dedicated fireman, who never shirked his responsibility, but was always in the forefront in rescue operations during times of distress.
It was one of those calls of duty that sniffed out his life when he was fighting flames at a bakery in Chennai on Saturday night.
“When so many young firemen were around, it was his involvement in duty that made my father go to the forefront in fire-fighting despite his age,” said his elder son E. Veera Manikandan (28), who is employed in a private firm in Chennai.
Posted at Virudhunagar fire station, Egaraj was one of the many firemen from Madurai region deputed to Chennai for 10 days. He was supposed to complete his deputation on Monday and return to Virudhunagar on Tuesday.
Egaraj was supposed to join his family members, who had left Chennai for Virudhunagar, to seek alliance for his younger son Vijaya Saravanan (24), also a fireman deployed in Tiruthani.
“The last call from him was at 10 p.m. when we were at the bus stand waiting for the bus. At 2 a.m. on Sunday, we got a call from my uncle, who said my father had met with an accident during fire-fighting,” Mr. Veera Manikandan added. The family rushed back to Chennai only to see him dead.
Egaraj always wanted to live with his children. “Only my parents were living in Virudhunagar. I was living in Chennai with my family. My sister was married off in Tiruppur. My younger brother was posted in Tiruthani. I and my brother were trying for transfer either to Virudhunagar or Madurai to remain closer to my parents,” Mr. Veera Manikandan said.
Egaraj had sustained an injury in his knee during a rescue operation in Tambaram during the Chennai floods two years back.
“He had pain in his knee till last. Besides, he had a fall from a motorbike recently. But, he never hesitated to remain in the forefront when it came to rescue at times of distress,” Mr. Manikandan said.
The body is expected to reach his native place near R.R. Nagar late on Sunday night.