Fire in
trains ! Here's a lovely old ad dating back to 1964 warning passengers
against carrying inflammable articles while travelling by rail, but before you
see the ad, here's an incident recounted by Dr. Damania, who by now needs no
introduction to regular visitors to this site:
Says the doctor: “I just saw the "Fire in Trains" ad on the first page. I will tell you a story of how dangerous cigarette smoking in trains can be.
Says the doctor: “I just saw the "Fire in Trains" ad on the first page. I will tell you a story of how dangerous cigarette smoking in trains can be.
“My father
had engaged a Gujarati lawyer (Balwantrai?) who helped my father regain
possession of his ancestral home in Navsari. This famous Gujarati lawyer was a
tall and large gentleman who always wore spotlessly flowing white dhoti, cap
and coat. He was also fond of smoking cigarettes. Some years, after winning the
case for my father, the lawyer was traveling to Surat in a first class
compartment when he tried to throw out the window a burning cigarette stub from
the running train. Unfortunately, the cigarette was blown back into the
compartment and landed on his dhoti which caught fire! The fire was so sudden and
intense and fanned by the wind from the running train that the lawyer's clothes
were soon fully engulfed in flames. In a last ditch attempt to extinguish the
fire and save himself he jumped out of the running train, but did not survive
the fall and died on the spot. This all happened in the 1950s.
“Hence the
BB&CI (western Railway) ad is very apt.”
A. B.
Damania
Thanks
doc, we are often told of the danger of fire in trains, but rarely ever get to
hear what possibly happens when someone does not take enough care. This is
truly a hair raising episode...
