August 23, 2019
Firefighting: Modernisation and safety awareness the mantra for State Govt
The State Fire and Emergency Services Department is laying equal emphasis on modernisation as well as awareness about fire safety to reduce the extent of damage caused by fire, said the State Fire and Emergency Services Minister recently at a symposium organised by the CII.
Modernisation
Among the new equipment being bought by the department, he said, are 2,000 fire balls (which when thrown at a fire douses it quickly) and a 102-metre high ladder for Kolkata (for effectively fighting fires in highrises).
The department’s fleet in Kolkata has five ladders, but they are of lower heights.
Safety awareness
Several measures have also been taken to make people more aware of safety, said the minister. These include:
- Providing training to 2,000 clubs in Kolkata on basic firefighting and provide them some sort of equipment (since it is often the local youths who start fighting a fire even before fire engines arrive)
- Actively engaging in fire audits and suggesting measures for improvement wherever necessary; more than 800 establishments have been covered
- Banners and hoardings put up in connection with fire safety awareness, in Kolkata and in other towns across the State
- Pilot project taken up in Kolkata to replace overhead cable with underground ones, as the former are fire threats
Source: Millennium Post
