Fatherly fireman

Died: Lovejoy Secil Dadee Mehervan­jee, 81, erstwhile chief fire officer of the Bombay Fire Brigade, on July 25, 2006 in Bombay following cardiac arrest.

Describing him as "one of the finest officers of the Bombay Fire Brigade,” in his condolence letter to the family the governor of Maharashtra S. M. Krishna mentioned how Mehervanjee has "rendered distinguished service to the city and its people by saving precious life and property whose worth cannot be measured. He was one of the few surviving officers who had risked their lives to save those of others in the deadly Bombay Dock explosion of 1944. Even after retiring from active service he remained available for counsel whenever Bombay suffered natural or man-made disaster. A lively and warm-hearted person Mehervanjee will always be missed by the city of Bombay.”

Mehervanjee: fireball

The last of the surviving officers of the Bombay Dock explosion, he would dutifully attend the memorial service each year on April 14, observed as Fire Service Day in India when fire stations across the country pay tribute to their fellow 66 firemen who lost their lives in action while trying to control the fire on the ship Fort Stikene. Then barely out of his teens, Mehervanjee had joined the Wartime Auxiliary Fire Service as sub leader. When the ship Fort Stikene, laden with lethal ammunition, caught fire and subsequently exploded, Me­her­vanjee was by his trailer pump near the ship organizing further strategy. After another 31 minutes the ship exploded a second time and Mehervanjee was among the casualties who had to be rushed to hospital for medical treatment, he had recalled to Parsiana ("Memorial duty,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, June 2002).

When World War II was over and the Auxiliary Fire Service was disbanded, Mehervanjee was absorbed in the regular Fire Brigade in Bombay. During his years of service he must have participated in nearly every major fire fighting, house collapse and other emergency operations in the city and was conferred the President’s Police Medal for meritorious service when he was the deputy chief fire officer in 1976. He retired as chief fire officer in 1983.

"With the passing away of Mehervanjee the fire services fraternity has lost an able professional who lived to uphold the true spirit of professionalism,” noted the condolence letter from K. P. Sharma on behalf of the executive council of The Institute of Fire Engineers. At the Fire Exhibition organized by the Institute in February 2004, Mehervanjee was presented a scroll of honor "in recognition of his achievements and selfless contributions to the cause of fire service… and (the) spread of fire safety culture in India.” He is the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award instituted by the Fire Protection Association of India, notes a family source.

On his demise, the much respected senior was accorded a special honor by the Bombay Fire Brigade. His body was first brought to the Gowalia Tank Fire Station (which was his base for many years) the same night where firemen and officers from different stations came to pay their respects. It was then taken to the Doongerwadi and kept in the morgue until the next morning where it was brought out for the final guard of honor. Fire chief A. S. Jhandwal with around 50 firemen came with fire engines to bid their final adieu to the accompaniment of the last bugle. As Jhandwal was quoted in the Afternoon Despatch and Courier (ADC) of July 27, 2006, "Even after retirement Mehervanjee was always an inspirational icon for firefighters in the city. He has helped the Fire Brigade through case studies and by providing guidance to newcomers in the fire team…The older generation of the fire brigade has come to an end.”

Press photographer Rashid Baman­behram who had known Mehervanjee since 1968 when he started his photography career and was present at the final farewell related, "He was a very daring officer and carried out rescue operations without any fear. He was a person who never cared for his life, but cared for others.”

An obituary by Mark Manuel in the ADC described Mehervanjee as being "built like Fred Astaire, small and slight, and with sparkling eyes and light dancing feet…When the Express Towers penthouse went up in flames in the 1990s Mehervanjee drove up in a glittering red fire engine attached with the prestigious Simon Snorkel ladder…It turned out the current chief fire officer was on leave and out of the city so Mehervanjee decided to come and give the firemen some moral support. He must have been in his 70s then.” As related by Manuel one of the major dilemmas of Mehervanjee’s life concerned the fire. As a Zoroastrian he was expected to revere it and his duties as a fireman required him to fight it. This turmoil continued until a British fireman convinced him, "That fire is a sacred fire that you are worshipping and this is a killer fire that you are fighting.”

He would happily participate in the religious festivals of all communities but his own religion was sacred to him, mentions his daughter Niloufer recalling how he would always impress on his children the need to wear the sudreh-kusti at all times, to recite prayers at the start of a day and at the time of switching on the lights in the evening, to tie the hair before going to a fire temple, to marry within the community…

Born in China, he was given a double-barrel name by his parents: his mother was keen on Lovji and his father wanted to name him Secil after the ship in which he and his pregnant wife were sailing to China. His British employers changed Lovji to Lovejoy and this name he retained till the end.

In his younger days the firefighter enjoyed his games of cricket and volley ball with his colleagues and until the end he retained his joie de vivre by playing with his grandchildren and his little friends from the building, entertaining them with his mouth organ melodies, listening to Indian and western yesteryear musicals, feeding biscuits to the neighborhood dogs…

The fireball fireman is survived by his daughters Jasmine Dastur, Yasmin Katrak, Niloufer, and Khushnood Vakil, and son Kayomerz.