Bandipore, June 1: The main fire station in this north Kashmir district is facing acute shortage of men and machinery impeding its functioning.

 The station, which has a jurisdiction over 30 villages has only one fire tender with nine fire men.

 Sources revealed that the station was suffering from lack of staff and equipments from the last one decade. “The hosepipes, crucial to douse any fire, have outlived their utility and need to be replaced immediately,” he said.
 “We face difficulty in reaching to the spot as the fire tender vehicle is decrepit and develops snag very often,” an employee said adding it takes them hours to extinguish the flames because of leaking pipes.

 Sources said few weeks back the fire brigade office received three emergency calls on a single night. But it could attend to only one due to shortage of fire tenders and fire fighters as a result of which property and valuables worth lakhs of rupees were reduced to ashes.

 Sources said even though the government had given a nod for a fire station in Municipal area to cater to the population, the proposal was still on paper.
 According to officials, every year, on an average, property and other materials worth Rs five to six crore is destroyed in fire incidents in the area covered by the Bandipora fire brigade due to the lack of required fire fighting devices.

 According to the state’s fire safety norms, a fire tender is required for a population of 50,000. This way, the Bandipore fire brigade requires five fire tenders. The norms further state that 26 employees should be deployed against each fire tender.

 When contacted deputy commissioner Bandipore, Muhammad Sharief Saud said “we have informed the heads of the concerned department about the lack of machinery and staff in the fire station.”

 Two more fire stations have been recently announced by the Chief Minister for Bandipora and Gurez, I will again apprise the higher authorities about the problem” DC said.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 1 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 1 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 2 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST