Srinagar: Authorities at the Traffic Police Headquarters Srinagar, which was partially damaged by a predawn fire incident on Wednesday, have neglected the recommendations by the Fire and Emergency Services Department which conducted a fire audit of the building, an official claimed.
Divisional Fire Officer F&ES, Tasaduq Ahmad while talking to the media after the fire was extinguished at the Traffic Police headquarters on MA Road in city centre Lal Chowk, said, “I have myself conducted the fire audit. We had given the recommendations which have not been implemented so far. But it takes time. We have forwarded the proposal to the head office which has not been cleared so far.”
Over a question on the failure of officials to install fire extinguishers in the building gutted in today’s fire, Ahmad said, “It’s not just about fire extinguishers, but the inmates should know how to operate the whole system.”
Over today’s fire at the Traffic Police headquarters, the Divisional Fire Officer said that they received a distress call from the PCR Srinagar at around 4:10 am in the morning after which they activated eight stations and set up the mobile water pumps on the Jhelum banks nearby. He said they were able to bring the fire under control in 30 minutes.
Ahmad said that the timely action by the firefighters helped prevent a major tragedy in the city centre especially given the abundant woodwork at the affected building.
The Divisional Fire Officer informed that the department had conducted 4000 fire audits in last three years. He stressed on first-aid preventive intervention so that minor fires are controlled by the people themselves on the spot.
