New Delhi, April 14, 2016 – Shri Kiren Rijiju, Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Home) said that the Fire Services is not getting its due priority and so sought the support of State Governments to do more to improve their operational abilities. He was speaking on the occasion of a National Workshop on ‘An Integrated Approach to Fire Safety’ at Vigyan Bhawan on 14th April 2016. The occasion was the ‘Fire Service Day’ and so a commemorative stamp was released in the presence of Shri Kiren Rijiju by Shri T. Murthy, Member (Operation) Postal Services Board. The stamp comprised of two firemen on the hydraulic platform and four firemen on the ground battling fire.
Shri Kiren Rijiju, Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Home) empathized with those who lost their lives and said, “If a house burns the dreams of the residents too burns and if a family member dies, it is the worst case scenario”. He said that there was a need to intensify Awareness Generation Programmes to spread awareness about fire mitigation to reduce the prospects of fire and also save life and property to contribute to national development.
Shri Kiren Rijiju Union Minister of State (Home) paid homage to firemen by saying ‘I salute those firemen who gave their lives for others lives’ and those who continue to fight fire gallantly’. He acknowledged the keystone role played by the firemen and the tremendous risk and difficulties in which they work. He said that they continue to be ‘unsung Heroes’ and agreed a lot needs to be done to equip and train them.
Further, MOS (Home) mentioned that the Bureau of Indian Standards is in the process of revising the National Building Code of India for proper safety of all types of buildings and requested the stakeholders to strictly adhere to the same. In fact, he said that there was also a strong case for enactment of National Fire Safety in the country.
Earlier on, Smt Archana Ramasundaram, IPS, Director General Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards welcomed the gathering and said that the commemorative postage stamp will go a long way in boosting the morale of thousands of Fire Safety professionals. She highlighted the fact that the Fire Services Department was steadily changing into a Multi-Hazard Response Service by getting involved in non fire accidents like, rescuing trapped persons from collapsed buildings or victims of gas and industrial disasters, drowning, etc., in most cases without proper equipment, expertise and training. She said fire accidents have a devastating impact and cause serious setback not only to individuals but, to the national economy and pace of development in the country. They can be checked by adhering to fire precautions. Hence, the Fire Services slogan was coined as ‘Prevent Fire Accident-Promote Nation’s Development’. She sought the support of one and all.
Shri B K Prasad, IAS, Additional Secretary, MHA said that the MOS (Home) Shri Kiren Rijiju was conferred the Disaster Risk Reduction Champion Status’ by a United Nations body and so placed confidence that the MOS (Home) will be able to help the Fire Services get over its problems. He said the crux of the problem was that Fire Service is a State subject and is shown as a Municipal function. Central Government and Standing Fire Advisory Council can make policies but, the onus of implementation is with the State. But, as it is under the Municipal jurisdiction in Maharastra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana the utility of Fire Stations is constrained. Hence, the response time and crunch of manpower is high. As per available statistics, he said that there was a shortage of 65% in the requirement of Fire Stations, 92% shortage in manpower and 83% shortage in fire appliances. This gap needs to be reduced by the State Governments as it is critical to fight fire, efficiently. Shri T. Murthy, Member (Operation) Postal Services Board also spoke.
Two technical sessions were conducted. Dr Binay Kumar Behra, IPS, DG, Fire & Emergency Services, Odhisha chaired the first session on ‘Force multiplying endeavours in mitigating fire hazards’ and Shri Loknath Behra, IPS, DG Fire Services, Kerala chaired the second session on ‘Implementation of e-governance in Fire and Emergency Services’. Six presenters from various specialized departments stirred the Workshop in which nearly 100 Fire professionals from States UTs, Public and Private Sector undertaking participated. Problems pertaining to the fire service resource management, training, shortage of Fire Stations, shortage of manpower, challenges in firefighting, rescue and life safety scenarios in high rise structures and in the smart cities. Disaster Management Control and Mitigation in the new scenario was also discussed.
On the occasion of the ‘Fire Service Week’, Shri Rajnath Singh, Union Minister for Home too pitched in by recording a crisp message for the countrymen which was telecast on Doordarshan channels. The Hon’ble Union Minister for Home sought the cooperation of all the stakeholders in making the Fire Services slogan ‘Prevent Fire Accident-Promote Nation’s Development’ a grand success. Today, Fire Services Departments in States, Union Territories and PSUs and private sector conducted Martyr memorial parades, awareness programmes, painting and poster competition, distributed the dos and don’ts of fire safety and mitigation and conducted fire safety demonstrations. A short film ‘Saga of Sacrifice’ on the SS Fort Stikine fire accidents on 14th April 1944 at Mumbai Victoria Dock was also released at the workshop in New Delhi. It was on this accident that ‘Fire Service Week’ was scheduled from 1955 onwards and ‘Fire Service Day’ was observed from 1968 onwards.