Beyond call of duty! Mumbai fireman stops auto driver from killing himself

Going beyond the call of duty! 39-year-old fire fighter Bhagwat Sriram Sonone, stops 44-year-old man, threatening to jump off the fourth floor of a seven-storey building in Badlapur, from ending his life

Rescue op in the service duct

Going beyond the call of duty makes a job a passion. And, for 39-year-old fire fighter Bhagwat Sriram Sonone, convincing someone against ending his life was paramount on Thursday.

Two boys came to the Badlapur fire station with news that a man was about to jump off the service duct of a seven-storey building. Sonone rushed with a team of five to find auto driver Rahu Zunzarao (44) teetering on a plastic drainage pipe.

Bhagwat Sonone counsels Rahu Zunzarao 

“When I tried to coax him into coming down, he said he just wanted to kill himself because somebody was going to murder him at his home anyway. He had also written a suicide note,” Sonone said. “We were guiding him on how to come out of the duct by using the pipes and window sills, but his feet were shaking so much that he, along with the drainage pipe that he was standing on, could have given way at any moment.”

A determined Sonone then took matters into his own hands. He and his team went to the terrace of the building from where a “chair knot” was made in which Sonone lowered himself to the service duct. A safety belt had been attached to his body as well. “I wore the chair knot, and went into the service duct to rescue him personally. I then slowly pulled him out, put him on my shoulders and brought him to safety.”

The suicide note

Once he was removed from the duct, a depressed Rahu told the firemen that someone was trying to murder him at home, which was why he had tried to kill himself. The fire officers then took Rahu home and counselled him at length. “We advised the family to take him to a psychiatrist so that he did not attempt something like this again.”

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