After three months of basic training, 75 young men joined the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services on Tuesday.
The passing-out parade was held at the State Training Centre in Tambaram Sanatorium. Fire and Rescue Services Director R.Natraj reviewed the parade and handed over medals to the meritorious youth.
In an interaction with mediapersons, he said that following the recent fire accidents in Bangalore and Kolkata, the Fire and Rescue Services has sent communication to all high-rise buildings and apartment complexes to take precautionary measures to prevent fire accidents.
He added that the Centre had given its sanction for purchasing 300 two-wheelers to be used by firemen to reach a fire accident spot at the earliest.
The firemen would carry portable fire extinguishers. Minor fires often grew into big ones and hence immediate action would go a long way in preventing major fire accidents.
Further, they would also be procuring smaller vehicles to reach accident spots where approach roads were narrow.
Pointing out that faulty wiring and electrical leakage was the cause for 70 per cent of all fire accidents in buildings, Mr. Natraj added that owners should ensure that wiring was done with fire retardant material. In Chennai, they had identified fire-prone hutments and steps were taken to monitor these places round the clock. Fire tenders would be stationed near all the vulnerable areas, Mr. Natraj added.
He said that last year, they recruited 300 firemen, yet there was still a vacancy of about 900 firemen.
Officials said that after their basic training, the firemen would be continuing with their field training at their respective Fire Stations they would be attached to.
R.Balsami, Joint Director and K.Ponnuswami, Deputy Director (Training), were among other officers present on the occasion.
