UNDERLINING THE need for more technical and trained hands to effectively deal with increasing population, multistorey complexes and industrialization, Haramol Singh, DG, Fire Services, admitted that certain provisions of the UP Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Act, which did away with the earlier provision of taking a NOC from the Fire Services before starting construction, was causing concern.
In an interview to the Hindustan Times on the eve of the Fire Service Day here today, Singh said an inspection by firemen after construction of a multistorey complex would hardly serve any purpose. After the Meerut incident, it had now been made mandatory to take an NOC from the department before construction of any pandal but this rule was more relevant in case of high-rise buildings. He said firemen must be consulted before erecting pandals or organising mela etc.
He emphasised that a six-monthly ‘fire drill’ should be made mandatory for the residents of multistorey buildings to educate about use of fire-fighting equipment, ways to vacate building. Singh informed that the department was already running various educational programmes to prevent fire incidents.
Singh said the UP Fire Services was set up in 1944 as a Fire Fighting Department but now it had the added responsibilities of disaster management, natural calamities and other difficult situations for which there was an urgent need for latest equipment, expertise and trained hands. He said awareness among people for fire safety measures was a vital point but nothing much had been done in this regard.
{{/usCountry}}Singh said the UP Fire Services was set up in 1944 as a Fire Fighting Department but now it had the added responsibilities of disaster management, natural calamities and other difficult situations for which there was an urgent need for latest equipment, expertise and trained hands. He said awareness among people for fire safety measures was a vital point but nothing much had been done in this regard.
{{/usCountry}}Regretting the Meerut incident, Singh clarified that the CFO was neither asked to visit the exhibition nor to issue a NOC as the permission was granted by the district administration itself.
He, however, expressed the confidence that the department, which is new for him as he has joined only a few days back, would soon be strengthen and would succeed in saving life and property worth crores of rupees which was gutted every year in fire accidents.