Members of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence carried out their duties promptly amid risks as the cyclone Remal has left a trail of destruction in the coastal regions of Bangladesh, recently.

They started their duties from early Monday as soon as the cyclone hit the coastal areas uprooting a large number of trees on both sides of all highways and roads blocking them in the first phase. A number of trees also fell on houses and buildings damaging them.

The firefighters removed the trees from the roads in the early hour on Monday amid the ongoing cyclone and tried their best to keep the road useable for transports.

The storm made landfall with wind speeds of up to 130kmph Sunday (26 May) evening, turned into a deep depression on the next day and moved towards the north-eastwards.

Abdul Jalil, a private job holder of Dhaka was going to his village home at Bamna in Barguna, said “We have come from Dhaka and stopped our journey in Kalijir area on the Barishal-Khulna highway of Barishal  Sadar upazila as a big tree fell on the road. Fortunately, the tree was removed quickly by the fire service men and their modern equipment made it possible within the shortest possible time.”

Monirul Islam Talukder, president of Jhalakathi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said “I was going to Kathalia from Jhalakathi sadar on my personal car during the cyclone. I had to pause at Bhandaria when a big tree fell on the road. I thought I would have to return, but at that moment, I saw a team of fire service started cutting the tree and removing it. Within half an hour a large brunch of the tree was removed from the road. I was astonished to see the performance of the fire service.”

All the roads are very important during any disaster for quick transportation and communication, said Dr Hafiz Ashraful, the chairman of the Department of Disaster Management of Barishal University, adding that, the fire service men contributed significantly to mitigate the natural calamity.

Many dwellers of coastal areas expressed their gratitude as fire service men have been continuously working till today to recover the damaged roads.

“We were able to run our buses on the roads as firemen kept the roads clean amid the deadly cyclone,” said Jamal, a bus driver of Barishal Upatoli Bus Stand.

“We never think about our safety but always consider our duties towards the people during any disaster. It’s our pleasure that we have the opportunities to stand beside the people during their needs and we love to do it”, said a fire service man said.