Fire officials, on the occasion of Fire Safety Week, appealed the people to give way to the fire tenders if they see them or hear the siren, bell or come across it rushing towards the fire location. Speaking on the occasion of Fire Day on April 14, Fire Officers at Dhurwa Fire Station said that even a minute is enough to save lives of many. An awareness campaign was also started that will be continued throughout the week for creating awareness among the people.
“It is a humble request for everyone that they should give way immediately to a rushing fire tender as every minute is precious for us. This can save several lives,” said Fire Officer laxman Prasad at Dhurwa Fire Station. Every individual must remember the number of Fire Brigade and must be called up immediately after an outburst of fire as it is generally noticed that Fire Brigade is called several hours after a fire breaks out, added Prasad.
“One should not waste time in experimenting with the fire and call the fire brigade immediately as even a small fire can take ugly turns if mishandled in an improper way,” said the Fire Officer. According to the Fire Officer, the fire department is always prepared for any emergency like situation and it does not take more than two minutes after getting a call from someone, but it is the people who make them lose those crucial moments by calling them late and blocking their way in the form the traffic.
In order to prevent domestic fire, Prasad also warned the housewives to ensure while getting their lPG cylinders refilled that the washer is not damaged which the root cause of gas leakage leading to the outbreak of fire in the kitchen. To increase its fire fighting capabilities at the block and division where fire safety measures are still lacking, Jharkhand soon to get 14 new fire stations to cater the requirement of some of the remote areas of the state.
According to the sources in the fire department, infrastructure at the block and division level is being provided to set up the fire stations while 28 out of a total of 56 small and large fire tenders have already been delivered to the department. “Presently Ranchi has around 36 small and big fire tenders stationed at four fire stations in Ranchi,” said another official.
Besides that there is one ‘Aerial ladder Platform’ to reach the point of fire in sky scrapers. Each of the fire station in Ranchi have an average 4-5 fire tenders with a single foam fire tender placed in Dhurwa,” said a fireman requesting anonymity. The ‘Foam Dissipater’ is used to control fire caused by oily substances and gases (Category B and C). The foam used in this case has to be lighter than the lightest oil. The foam dissipater is also used to spray tiny droplets of water to control fire caused by gases. The dissipater when filled with a special powder is used to control fire of category D, caused by metallic substances. Sources in the fire department, however, told that there was an acute shortage of staff in the department doing away with only 3-4 firemen on a fire tender against the minimum standard strength of six people on it.
The Firemen also alleged that Doranda itself having a sanctioned post of 45 posts is doing away with only 25 of firemen. They also asserted that the old age recruitment process was the main hurdle in the strengthening the fire department which desperately needs to be changed. Similarly, each fire station must be provided at least one foam-tender in each of the fire stations so that they can deal with the fire caused by oil and plastic efficiently, which was very common these days, they said.