World | Pakistan
Dial 1122 in case of any emergency
Rescue service helps save lives in Lahore.
- By Kamila HyatCorrespondent
- Published: 00:03 March 9, 2008
Lahore: Never before in Lahore, a city known for decades for its peace and relative safety, has there been so much random violence.
The latest outbreak of terrorist mayhem came on Tuesday, at the city's Naval War College, situated along the Mall Road.
The series of blasts by one or two suicide bombers created panic all around, affecting among other educational institutions the domed and spired Aitchison College, since colonial times the city's most prestigious boy's school.
But, rather ironically, the bombings in the city are also a reminder of how things have changed. Both this time around, and earlier in the year, when another bomber struck at the entrance to the Lahore High Court, killing dozens, the whirring of sirens and the flash of lights have immediately filled the air.
They come from the rescue vehicles of the 1122 rescue services, established now in towns across the Punjab.
The smart red and white ambulances and fire engines are now a part of the street scene in Lahore, on the spot in a flash not only after bombings or acts of terrorism, but also road accidents or fires. Lahore certainly needs such services.
Within the past three years, at least four major city shopping plazas have caught fire. Faulty electrical wiring was a key factor. But while there is still a huge need for fire exits and other safety measures in buildings, the 1122 services have undoubtedly helped save lives and minimise damage.
Swift service
The efficient, swift services they offer, by dialling the telephone number 1122 are unique in a city where till now public-sector rescue services have traditionally been slow to respond and notoriously ill-equipped.
Many citizens have tales to tell of fire engines that needed to be towed to the spot or fire hoses that refused to spurt water.
"This is the kind of thing I had in mind when there was a fire in my neighbourhood. But to my surprise, the 1122 fire engines came and they put out the fire very quickly," said Ahmad Pervaiz, a resident of Shadman.
It is also thought that the 1122 services have played a vital role in the aftermath of bomb blasts, with prompt trauma care in the ambulances, each manned by two paramedics, almost certainly saving lives.
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