An encounter with fire

It was a usual summer morning. I was sitting on the veranda of our house and attending the online classes. Next to our house, we have our fields. And we grow paddy in it. Our neighbours also have fields and they are adjacent to each other.

The preparations for this monsoon cultivation have been started. As the first step, all the surrounding places are cleaned up and the weeds are being removed. One of our neighbours was cleaning his field and piling up the weeds to convert them into manure. At noon one pile of weed caught fire. He tried to control it, but due to the strong wind, it started spreading all around.

He came running calling for help. All of us left our work and ran to extinguish the spreading fire. We tried to mitigate the fire by hitting it with branches of trees and putting sand to prevent its spreading. But, it didn't help much as the flames were touching the sky. Then we started fetching water from the well to quench the fire. It was tiresome work. So, we pulled out the pipes into the fields and started filling the buckets to pour the water.

By this time all the neighbours had gathered and they had called the fire brigade to stop this wildfire. The fire engine had difficulty reaching the fields since there was no proper road into the fields. Somehow we managed to create a path in the fields and the fire engine could reach the place.

They quickly analysed the situation and jumped into different roles of extinguishing the fire. Two of the firemen connected the pipes to their water tank and started spraying water while the other two men put off the fire with their fire-resistant brooms. There is a pond on the other side of the fields. We all were trying to stop the fire from reaching the other end by pouring the water from the pond.

All were working together by assisting each other. Some fetched water, some carried it in buckets, and others put off the fire. Finally, the fire was extinguished completely. The firemen rolled the pipes and put them back in the compartment. We cleaned all the buckets which had turned black due to the flame and smoke. Later we thanked everyone for their help and efforts in managing the situation.

This was my first encounter with such an operation. Even though it created a situation of distress and panic it helped in removing all the weeds from the roots and cleared the fields for further works. It taught us how to handle such situations and take necessary precautions in the future. By this time it was evening and everyone was tired after working under the heat of the burning sun. We concluded all the work for the day and took rest.

As an effect of the Tauktae cyclone in the Arabian sea, there was heavy rain at night which continued till the next day as forecasted. It was like a Natural therapy of mother Earth by burning the weeds with fire and cooling the land with rain, aiding in enhancing the fertility of the soil promoting the growth of crops.

It is still raining here, as in the monsoon season and I am sitting on the veranda attending the online classes!