Naveen nod to special fire force

Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday approved creation of a striking force in Odisha fire services directorate.
The primary tasks of the striking fire force would be to carry out rescue operations during crisis situations, including urban flooding, fire in highrise buildings/hospitals, train accidents, chemical disasters and industrial fires.
The force with specialised training and equipment will be stationed at three range headquarters — Cuttack, Sambalpur and Berhampur. Each range will have 48 personnel, who would be part of the striking force. A total of 144 posts for the striking force have been sanctioned, a written statement from the chief minister’s office said.
Director general (fire services) Santosh Upadhyay made a presentation about the necessity and structure of the striking force before the chief minister and 5T secretary VK Pandian via virtual mode. Chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra was present in the meeting.
In view of the multifarious activities of the Odisha fire services, the available personnel are often mobilised to respond to disasters. This hampers the normal duties of the Odisha fire services and reduces their efficiency.
“Since our personnel are the first responders to any disaster, there is a need to reserve a specialised force for immediate deployment on urgent requisition during any emergency. Creation of the striking force will also provide more citizen-centric services under the 5T and Mo Sarkar mandates,” Upadhyay said.
It must be noted that disaster management skills have become an integral part of the fire service training programme after the catastrophic super cyclone in the state in 1999 that killed over 10,000 people.
Personnel of the Odisha fire service were sent to different states, including Andhra Pradesh to carry out rescue operations during Hudhud cyclone in October 2014.