The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response and Fire Services (SDRFS) department has embarked on reforms to overcome various issues and to provide better services to the public.
SDRFS Director-General K. Satyanarayana, who convened a meeting with the top brass of the department and the regional and district fire officers here on Sunday, spelt out certain decisions. Among the major decisions is making necessary amendments to the Fire Service Act.
Speaking to media later, Mr. Satyanarayana said the changes needed for the Act would be studied by a committee, which would soon consult all stakeholders such as architects, builders, industrialists, doctors and others in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati.
Speaking about the staff shortage, Mr. Satyanarayana said each district had a requirement of about 50 to 60 personnel, and there was about 30 per cent overall shortage. “We plan to rope in people, mainly NCC cadets, NGO activists, security personnel from private industries and other other sectors and train them,” he said.
“There are many youth keen on working with us for the public and it will be a great opportunity for their career growth too,” Mr. Satyanarayana added. “Also, the staff in rural areas will be shifted to urban areas to fill the vacant posts,” he added, saying specialised teams to tackle fire accidents, floods and other disasters had been formed. “The teams will undergo training in Pune and will lead the operations when needed in future,” the DG said.
Online NOC
In another 10 days, online system to issue fire NOCs will be established as well as all the prerequisites for NOC like details of fire fighting equipment, fee and others will be uploaded on the department website.
Two new fire stations
The State government has sanctioned two new fire stations at Kuppam and Peddapuram and land has been allotted for the same. As soon as budget allocation is done, construction work of the stations will begin.
Clearance all pending files, filling up of vacancies by promoting eligible staff, improving office administration through e-Office, imparting modern training in swimming, flood and rescue operations are other decisions taken in the meeting.
