The Home Department has appointed a one-man commission to suggest steps to be taken for modernisation of the Fire and Rescue Services Department.
As part of it, the commission will visit metro cities in the country to observe operations and infrastructure with the Fire and Rescue Services Department in those cities.
According to officials in the Fire and Rescue Services Department, the commission will be a senior officer in the Fire and Rescue Services Department.
“Following a long demand, the Home Department has appointed a commission to study steps to modernise the Fire and Rescue Services Department. The commission will visit New Delhi, Chennai and National Fire Service College in Nagpur for the purpose. The commission has been asked to file a report on return, mentioning the drawbacks with the Fire and Rescue Services Department in the state now. It has been asked to recommend infrastructure required to enhance the operations of the Fire Force. The Fire and Rescue Services in Chennai and New Delhi are well-equipped with advanced gadgets compared to ours,” an official said.
Recently, the Fire and Rescue Services Department was criticised for lacking efficiency and being involved in corruption cases.
The department still lacks advanced vehicles for fire and rescue operations.
Personnel carrying out various operations often do not have proper lifts, hydrants and fire protection jackets. When a fire mishap takes place in a high-rise, firemen find hard to carry out the rescue work due to lack of equipment like skylifts. “Besides we do not have fire tenders of small size to douse fire in case of fire in smaller lanes and colonies,” the official said.