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| India-Pakistan | |||
| Women fire-fighters in Bengal to rescue Muslim women during fires | |||
| 2008-01-18 | |||
Kolkata, August 2: The death of a Muslim woman, who was caught in a blaze as the locals refused to allow entry to male fire-fighters to rescue her, in Colootola, central Kolkata, recently has spurred the West Bengal Fire Services Department to propose the induction of women fire-fighters.
Fire department sources said the Colootola incident was not the only one of its kind. What prompted the State Government to moot the plan is several such cases where women of the Muslim community refused to be escorted out of the fire zone by male fire-fighters. ‘‘We have a problem with women of Muslim community who do not want to be rescued by male fire-fighters even when they are on the verge of death. This has prompted me to think of raising a women force,’’ said Pratim Chatterjee, Minister for Fire Services.
The minister also said he was planning to have a 25-member rapid action fire force which will be trained to fight fires of great magnitude. ‘‘It will be raised along the lines of the National Security Guards who are always ready to tackle any emergency anywhere in the State,’’ said Chatterjee. The Kolkata Police have welcomed the decision. ‘‘We have women police here and they are doing excellent job. I think if we have women fire-fighters, it will help the department to do its job much better,’’ sai dAnuj Sharma, DCP, headquarters of Kolkata Police. | |||
| Posted by:john frum |
| #13 As an aside, my niece is a firefighter, and in rookie school she carried her partner (twice her weight) out through the maze faster than he carried her. Muscle, coordination, balance, and spacial awareness are worth a lot more than shear bulk. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-01-18 18:05 |
| #12 We have a problem with women of Muslim community who do not want to be rescued by male fire-fighters even when they are on the verge of death. So do I, but---I'd guess---my problem is different. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-01-18 17:40 |
| #11 This story shows the deep systemic problems with Islam. This issue brought up in the article is like a mad hatter's tea party. Take an emergency room in most places in the western world. Male and female are often naked on the emergency room table. No big deal. The primary mission is to save lives. If the muzzies want to make a big deal if a woman or a man rescues the opposite sex during a fire, then stupidity will sort them out in this society. It is THEIR problem and they have to face THEIR problem themselves. Let them deal with their stupidity, and the rest of the world can go on and learn from others that have met success in firefighting and rescue techniques. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-01-18 17:38 |
| #10 We have a problem with women of Muslim community who do not want to be rescued by male fire-fighters even when they are on the verge of death. And yet in the very first paragraph. The death of a Muslim woman, who was caught in a blaze as the locals refused to allow entry to male fire-fighters to rescue her Islam in a nutshell. It's not OUR choice we're letting her burn to death, she wants it! |
| Posted by: Charles 2008-01-18 16:21 |
| #9 TW. YOu missed the last part. The one after being executed for murder. And given that it is in India, suttee seems ideal for dealing with those who hinder the work of firemen. |
| Posted by: JFM 2008-01-18 11:37 |
| #8 To paraphrase Ambrose about a medic attempting to help a nazi soldier, "I went to administer aid, he was bleeding badly, the soldier asked if there was jewish blood in the kit. I told him that I didn't know, so he refused treatment. He died." We have women in our fire department and all over western Kansas - that is not the issue. Interior fire/rescue sucks (is difficult) even in training situations. This is not a pc pt test, there is true physical exertion in a structure fire rescue and genetalia be damned the people who go in must be able to perform - as there are plenty of men on our department who should not go in either. Their problem is a cultural one and they may even find this proposal rediculous. Women changing into gear in front of men, would they need to have a relative drive them to the scene, nomex burkas, headscarfs off for scba gear, so on etc. So yea, if they are willing to die for their religious beliefs so be it. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-01-18 11:15 |
| #7 Touché TW, well said. However, I believe, that a careful reading of history and yes tradition reveals women were ordained to a.... higher calling than common labor, stomping out fires or soldiering. I blame both wars and men for permitting this unfortunate social digression. I fear it will lead to no good. It's lunch at Fouquet's for the bride and I tomorrow. Wish you and Trailing husband could join. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-01-18 10:26 |
| #6 Here's an idea. Have Allah put the fires out. If he doesn't, they probably deserved it. Inshallah... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-01-18 09:56 |
| #5 I could care less if these cultists decide to immolate themselves. Darwin in action. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2008-01-18 09:55 |
| #4 Who does the rescuing when they're not sure of the victim's gender? |
| Posted by: James 2008-01-18 09:52 |
| #3 It's oddly gratifying that this situation leads to the opening of a career field to women in a part of the world where most women's job possibilities are limited. JFM, Besoeker, your logic is impeccable but incorrect; in this case the alternative to women carrying women, however poorly, is no one carrying women who then die in the flames because of cold-hearted stupidity. Similarly, units in Iraq like to have a woman on the team to search those dressed in female clothing without giving offence -- who have surprisingly often found a bad guy cross-dressing. First you work with the culture as it is... then you can change it. As the famous British soldier said about suttee, "We, too, have a tradition. When men burn a woman, we hang them. So you follow your tradition and then we will follow ours." Or something like that. There was something in the middle about building gallows alongside the pyre. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-01-18 08:50 |
| #2 ".........but firemen need to carry people and in proportaion to their own weight men can carry marger loads than women" I agree with your logic JFM, but it did't stop the United States Army from deleting the "fireman's carry" many years ago, from it's physical fitness test. Wounded buddy be damned, along with changing that heavy 2.5 truck tire and many other manly tasks. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-01-18 06:16 |
| #1 We have women police You don't need to be strong to carry and fire a pistol (a 50cal MG that is another thing) but firemen need to carry people and in proportaion to their own weight men can carry marger loads than women (ie a man can carry another man easier, faster and for longer distances tahnn a woman can carry another woman). This will translate in deaths. The corecct path if you wer not a bunch of commies allied with islmamo-fascism) would have been to have those who opposed the entrance to male firefighters being indicted for murder and executed. |
| Posted by: JFM 2008-01-18 06:08 |