Mock drills won’t suffice, fire equipment needed too!

Amritsar, April 20

Even as a number of mock fire safety drills and other events were organised in the city during the National Fire Safety week, which concluded on Wednesday, it is being felt that many public institutions are ill-equipped and do not even have basic fire safety equipment.

Surely, mock drills have helped employees to learn the basics of using the fire safety equipment where it is present, but there is a need to equip all buildings with the required infrastructure.

Apart from the new buildings, the condition of fire safety equipment at old ones is poor. Different public places including the bus stand and government hospitals have worn out fire safety equipment, which would not be able to help in case of an emergency.

The water hose and pipes installed at these places are either missing or broken. Even the glass panes of fire alarm systems which are required to be broken in case of a fire to raise an alarm are already broken.

A visit to the Civil Hospital revealed that water hoses and other materials were rusting. The same was seen at Government Medical College. At the bus stand too, the boxes where fire safety equipment is kept were empty.

Further, even as the fire wing of the Municipal Corporation claims to have all arrangements to deal with fire incidents, the fact that the old walled city area has narrow and congested lanes, where fire tenders cannot enter, is a big challenge.

With a vast area, the fire wing of the city also caters to emergencies in the Tarn Taran district. The nearby towns are also dependent on it for help.

Meanwhile, the district administration on Wednesday organised a mock drill at the Municipal Corporation office. Later, Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh Sudan said from now on, mock drills to impart training to deal with fire, earthquake and flood would be organised four times in a year.