ALAPPUZHA: A Malayali becoming a national hero in faraway Croatia might sound highly improbable. But Biju Raveendran hailing from Pullukulangara here managed to beat the odds and is now a popular figure in Bjelovar in the strikingly beautiful Balkan state. Now, what actually did the 41-year-old from Kandalloor South, Kayamkulam, do which had his exploits splashed all over Croatian media? Without bothering about his safety, Biju rescued a local woman and her two children stuck inside a three-storey building which had caught fire. He was feted by the local government for the act of bravado.
The incident took place around 2am Croatian time (5.30am IST) on July 10 on the top floor of the building in whose ground floor Biju and two of his Malayali friends stayed. Biju said, “We were sound asleep and were jolted awake by a loud sound. There was blinding light outside. Immediately, I scrambled to my feet and got out. By then, the blaze had engulfed the upper floor. The screams of the woman and her children rented the air. Local people also gathered, but there was none to rescue the trapped family”.
“Using a ladder belonging to another resident, an electrician, I tried to scale the building. Due to the leaping flames and plume of smoke, I couldn’t get on to the balcony. But I managed to locate the ventilator and broke the glass pane. Helana Roobilu, the woman, handed over her children, aged three and five, through the ventilator. Since she was unable to reach up to the ventilator, I took a smaller ladder and passed it to her.
As she emerged through the ventilator, I placed the bigger ladder using which she got down safely. My friends and colleagues Varghese and Jobi from Pathanamthitta assisted me. Everything happened in less than 30 minutes. Later, fire fighters reached the area and put out the fire,” Biju, working as a welder in an oil refinery, who had come to Croatia 14 months ago from the Gulf, told TNIE over phone from Bjelovar.
The fire started from the washing machine and the rooms were almost gutted, he said. “Dario Hrebak, Mayor of Bjelovar, invited me to his office and felicitated me. After the incident, I have been getting many job offers from Croatians,” said Biju, whose wife Soja and 12-year-old daughter Adithya are in his native village.