NGO floats idea on fire helpers to assist fire brigade

Surat: In the wake of the fire tragedy at Varachha on Friday, a few of the non-governmental organizations have mooted the idea of raising a fire helpers brigade to assist the fire department during such emergencies and also to create awareness among public on fire safety drills.
Traffic Education Trust, an NGO, had mooted an idea of traffic brigade to assist and govern traffic at the busy junctions along with the policemen. Today, more than 3,000 jawans have been appointed on the roads and with great success.
The fire and emergency department which has to deal with various kinds of risks has staff of just 884 personnel in a city that houses 50 lakh people and 20 lakh properties. The department falls short on staff on ground to periodically check and recheck whether basic fire fighting equipment have been installed at all the places, whether these are functioning and if the drills are carried out regularly or not.
“It is practically impossible to go to each apartment even on monthly basis and check their facilities, and conduct drills to check if the equipment is functioning or not,” said Basant Parikh, chief fire officer.
The idea of an additional brigade was mooted to create awareness about fire safety among people and also help them maintain basic fire fighting system so that when emergencies arise, the fire helpers brigade could prove helpful to the department.
Ashok Kanugo, secretary of the trust, said, “We came up with the traffic brigade with the help of traffic police to assist and govern traffic. Now, the fire department of SMC can help us in setting up such a fire helpers brigade to oversee fire preparedness in the city.” He further said that a special team will have to be trained and prepared separtely for serious fire fighting and other emergencies.
Municipal Commissioner M Thennarasan said, “We are not against such an idea of external help from an NGO if it can help keep fire safety norms checked in the city. However, when it comes to fire fighting and other such serious issues, we need to go about in an organized manner. Maybe a brigade of this kind can be formed by the state government at a state-level.”