Fire Brigade to rope in citizens to combat emergencies

In another move, the fire brigade will set-up a fire act communication cell consisting 99 officials from the team.

Residents can visit any fire station on Sundays, where they will be trained by firemen in handling fire-fighting equipment and evacuation measures.

With an increasing number of fire incidents in the city, the Mumbai fire brigade has initiated an education programme for citizens, in which they will be given basic training to carry out rescue operations in case of a fire in their vicinity.

Under the initiative, Mumbaikars can visit any nearby fire station on Sundays, where they will be trained by firemen in handling fire-fighting equipment, their installations and evacuation measures to be undertaken during an emergency.

“We aim to tell people to remain calm under such situations and understand the safety measures they can take to save their lives and also help others,” said S H Nesarikar, deputy fire officer, Mumbai fire brigade.

The department is planning to roll out the initiative starting June. Through the programme, the department also hopes to create a volunteer base of vigilant citizens, who after the basic training, can also help the fire department in minor rescue operations.

“The Mumbai fire brigade attends around 17,000 calls a year. If we are successful in training a good number of citizens, then we can form a volunteer group that can also help the brigade in rescue operations,” said Nesarikar.

In another move, the fire brigade will set-up a fire act communication cell consisting 99 officials from the team. The basic responsibility of the team will be to look into a GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping of all the buildings in the city and do a periodic review of the fire-fighting system in the buildings.

As per the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, all buildings are expected to submit fitness certificates of the safety equipment in the buildings twice a year, in January and July.

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“With more than three lakh buildings in the city, it will be difficult for the fire officials to visit every building and check fire-safety equipment. This system will help us keep a tab on them,” Nesarikar added.

The proposal to create a systematic GIS database with accurate large-scale maps and multi-dimensional data of land use, population pattern and monitoring sectoral plans such as education, health and fire protection was made earlier this year, but is yet to take off.

tanushree.venkatraman@expressindia.com

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