The Delhi Fire Service plans to overhaul the fire-fighting mechanism in the Capital in the coming year with the introduction of fast response vehicles, setting up of state-of-the-art fire stations, up gradation of its control room and a host of other measures.
“We have already procured five Toyota Innova Sport Utility Vehicles and equipped them with latest state-of-the-art basic fire-fighting equipment as well as Global Positioning System-enabled automatic vehicle tracking system. These vehicles will help in improving the response time of fire-fighters by find the shortest route to the spot and also facilitate enforcement,” said DFS director A.K. Sharma speaking at a three-day “Safety Convention” here on Wednesday.
The vehicles, which are slated to be introduced next year, will be easy to manoeuvre in smaller lanes and on crowded city roads.
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“Besides fast response vehicles, the DFS will also buy five vehicles equipped with water-mist technology to help attend emergencies instantly. Also, the DFS control-room will be equipped with latest GPS tracking system. It will help in fast mobilisation mechanism as a lot of time is now wasted in finding the location of the fire,” said Mr. Sharma.
He further said two new state-of-the-art fire stations will be set up in East Delhi and one at the Civic Centre by the end of the current financial year in March 2011. At present, there are 53 fire stations in the Capital and DFS plans to add another 15 during 2011-12.
On plans for fire-safety measures in high-rises, Mr. Sharma said: “Most of the new buildings coming up in the Capital are adhering to the fire safety norms, but the old ones, especially the high-rises, are still creating problems. We plan to make it mandatory for major buildings to appoint a dedicated fire officer and for all buildings to get their fire-fighting mechanism certified every two years.” The DFS also plans to hire more staff the next year.
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More than 300 safety engineers, disaster management experts, town planners, transport safety experts, manufacturers and suppliers of safety equipment are attending the convention organised by the Institute of Engineers and the Safety and Quality Forum.