Fire season hots up after 2 yrs, city stays ill-prepared as ever

Ludhiana: After two years of lull because of Covid-19, firefighters are back on their toes this summer, when a spike in blazes has caught them short of staff and necessary equipment, while the 10 more fire tenders they expected in May under the Smart City mission are also delayed.
The much talked about upgrading of the fire brigade hasn’t happened, while the firemen also remain without adequate water supply and new fire stations, besides better safety gear and hydraulic ladders.

They had a relaxed time in 2020 and 2021 because of a Covid-19-induced lockdown in the first year and a slow industrial reopening in the second. Come 2022 and most of the factories restarted and the summer also came on early, catching the fire department off guard. The extreme heat was behind major incidents.
The summer phase of April, May, and June (considered peak time for fires), accounted for 205 incidents in 2020 and 325 in 2021, while this year the fire department has reported at least 450 cases. The department expect the onset of rainy season to give them some respite before the count of fire pick up in September and October.
Requesting anonymity, one of the fire officials claimed that: “We work with four small fire trucks, two motorcycles, three life detectors, a few basic tools, emergency lights, firefighting suits, and thermal imaging cameras, just like last September. We expected 10 more fire tenders that haven’t been delivered despite inspection, so we to struggle while fighting the summer flames.”
The department requires more fire stations to cover the areas beyond the Jalandhar bypass and improve their reaction time. The two proposed fire station are yet to become reality.
Confronted, assistant divisional fire officer Swaran Chand said: “We have inspected the fired tenders that were supposed to be delivered shortly but the delivery got delayed for some reason. We expect to receive those fire trucks this month.”
However, regarding the other changes, zonal commissioner Neeraj Jain said: “The fire directorate was established in 2017 and now a Fire Act is also being prepared. When the directorate becomes fully functional, a new improved firefighting system will come into action.”