Srinagar: Latest Fire Tenders and Fire Rescue equipments worth Rs 14.50 crores have been provided to the Fire and Emergency Services Department under the World Bank funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project to help the Department revamp its fleet of fire tenders and strengthen its capacity to undertake the rescue work during fire accidents in a better way.
Under the component of Strengthening the Disaster Management Capacity of the World Bank funded JTFRP (17 No) Multipurpose Fire Tenders , (09No) Regular Fire Tenders, (17 No) Quick Response vehicles having a total cost of Rs 12.36 crores have been provided to the Fire & Emergency Services Dept. for revamping its fleet of fire tenders across J&K.
“Quick Response Fire tenders vehicles provided under JTFRP have been found to be very effective in controlling the fire incidents in congested urban areas where lanes are often narrow and normal fire tenders find it hard to reach the accident spot,” said Senior Divisional Officer of the F&ES Dept. He said these vehicles are equipped with latest dual fire dousing systems which are equally potent in controlling all the types of fires using water jets or foam sprays depending on the type of fire.
The Multipurpose Fire Tenders provided under the World Bank funded JTFRP have a water carrying capacity of 5000 litres and can also be loaded with 500 litres of foam. These vehicles are very vital for the timely containment of large scale fires and are also fitted with the electronic snag detection system which helps in timely rectification of any technical problem developed in the vehicle.
The fire vehicles provided under the World Bank project have been provided to fire stations in different districts across the UT which has considerably strengthened the capacity of the F&ES Dept. to control the fire accidents.
For effective management of the rescue work during the fire accidents (06) different types of (136 No) hi-tech equipment worth Rs 2.12 Crores have also been provided to the F&ES Dept. These include Hydraulic Spreader Cutter/Combi Tools, Ramps/Hydraulic Jacks, Fire Entry suits, Fire Proximity suits, Breathing apparatus sets and Water Jel blankets.
“Equipment like Hydraulic spreaders and Combi tools are very effective in rescuing a person stuck inside a car or an iron barricaded building during an accident” said one of the Senior Fire Officers at the Directorate of F&ES.
Further as part of the strengthening of the Infrastructure at the Fire & Emergency Services Headquarters at Batmaloo a new Administrative building and a Central Store Building is also being constructed under the Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project at a cost Rs 9.07 crores.
Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Chief Executive Officer, J&KERA/JTFRP said: “Strengthening of the various aspects of Disaster Management in UT is one of the main objectives of the World Bank funded JTFRP and with considerable infrastructural and material support provided under JTFRP, I hope the Department would be able to manage the fire accidents in more professional manner and will also be able to minimise loss to property and save precious lives during accidents.”
