Apart from the inability of the fire department to combat the Mantralaya fire, we have also been criticizing the authorities for not training their staff to cope with the emergency. But the big question is – Have we – professionals working in various sectors – ever received any training in our organizations to deal with such emergencies? In other words – How many organizations regularly train their staff for such disasters?

After the shamefully tragic incident of the fire, I recalled in the offices I have worked so far, I have never been trained for such a thing. In fact, I can’t even recall anyone even mentioning an emergency like a fire breakout. I even asked some of my friends (mostly working in private sectors) whether they have received any such training. Strangely, all answered in the negative except a friend who works in a bank.

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It seems we don’t consider it important since incidents like a fire rarely occur. This is quite understandable as we are only concerned about finishing our tasks before deadlines. But one should remember that at the end of the day, staying alive is the most important thing.

In a city like Mumbai, hundreds of commercial complexes are crammed with thousands of offices. A thought of a serious fire breaking out in these complexes sounds scary considering thousands of untrained staff having no idea how to cope up!

It’s high time we consider the Mantralaya fire as a wake-up call and start mock drills. Let’s not wait for more fires to erupt!