In our today’s edition of “Know your Heroes, we introduce you Ashu Singh, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Indian Navy. On 06 Mar 16, at about 1600 hrs, an incident of deck head lagging fire accompanied with heavy smouldering occurred in the ‘B’ Boiler Room of INS Viraat. The sailor showed exemplary courage and presence of mind in safeguarding machinery by taking correct procedural step in crash stopping B1 boiler which was last in use and securing other machinery in the vicinity. He took lead role in successfully fighting the fire relentlessly for 35 min with all other watch keepers and Standing Sea Fire Party (SSFP) in the extreme harsh conditions with intense heat and heavy smoke without thinking about his own safety thereby averting a major disaster. He also safeguarded the life of other firefighters by guiding them to evacuate boiler room in time.
In the process, the sailor, undeterred and unmindful of his own life, safeguarded the life of men and propulsion machinery of the aircraft carrier, displaying conspicuous gallantry, exemplary leadership and presented an example of “Service before Self”. The sailor displayed dauntless courage, most conspicuous gallantry, selfless service, outstanding professionalism and exemplary leadership disregarding the pain and suffocation and had sacrificed his own life while ensuring the safety of fellow ship mates and the aircraft carrier.
This feat of courage by the sailor, in saving both, personnel and the equipment at the cost of his own life is an act worthy of recognition and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the Service. He was posthumously awarded Shaurya Chakra on January 26th, 2017.
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