He was there at yesterday’s Strand Road warehouse fire too. Caught under the rubble, Ganatra is now recuperating at the SSKM Hospital.

Speaking to The Indian Express after regaining consciousness at the hospital today, Ganatra said: “Mujhe maut se dar nahin lagta. Is duniya mein main akela hoon. Mein kuch karna chahata tha sab ke liye. Lekin mere paas paise nahin hain. To maine socha ki jab koi bhi insaan musibat mein hoga, main unko kisibhi tarike se musibat se nikalunga (I am not afraid of dying. I am alone in this world. I wanted to do something for my fellowmen, but I do not have money. So I thought I would try to help people in distress).”

Ganatra, who works as an electrician and lives in a small room at 26, Dhirendra Mullick Street in north Kolkata, said he gets news of fires in the city from the control room of the fire department. “If there is any fire, I rush to the spot,” he said. “Since most officials, including senior policemen, know me, they never stop me from entering fire-ravaged buildings. Some of the firemen have even taught me how to hold the nozzle and train it on the leaping flames,” he added.

Among other incidents in the past, Ganatra was also involved in the rescue operations after the Bowbazar bomb blasts in 1993, as well as the Nandaram Market fire in 2008.

“I have known him for the last 20 years. He is a great social worker. Whenever there is a big fire in the city, he helps fire-fighters without any selfish interest and participates in rescue operations. In 2009, he was awarded by the Fire and Emergency Services department for his voluntary contribution in fire-fighting,” said Gopal Bhattacharya, director of Fire and Emergency Services.

“For his injury this time, we are thinking of giving him a cash compensation,” he added.