BHUBANESWAR: If the blazing sun is not bad enough, the raging fire incidents have unleashed a fury in Odisha this summer. As a staggering heatwave sweeps across the State, districts located in the hot zone of the State are staring at an unprecedented rise in fire mishaps.
The spate of incidents in Angul, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur and Bargarh are only a grim reminder of the huge cost the fire accidents are extracting in the State. April has been particularly cruel with major mishaps wiping out villages in one go.
According to latest figures, Dhenkanal alone reported 150 fire mishaps between January and March. In the entire 2016, it had recorded 247 fire accidents whereas in 2015 and 2014, the numbers were much lower. Like Dhenkanal, neighbouring Angul, which recorded 85 fire mishaps in the first three months, is on course to create a new record of sorts this year.
Both the districts have borne the brunt of heatwave which has added to the incidence of fire mishaps.
Last year, the fire stations across the State received a whopping 34,272 calls, at least 19,779 of which were to report fire.
The numbers were much less in 2015 and 2014 as only a little over 15,000 fire calls were received by fire stations during each of the year.
With the rising mercury sucking in moisture from the atmosphere and paving way for fire mishaps, the fire fighters of the State are faced with a dual challenge - more calls for fire and acute shortage of water.
Each motor fire engine is equipped to carry a 2,700 litres of water for exigency though fire tenders have to source water from the spot. With ponds and water bodies drying up fast in rural areas, the odds are high.
"To meet the exigency, we have started building a reserve for each fire station. The goal is to position each station with a mobile water tanker with capacity of at least 10,000 litres for rural pockets and 15,000 litres for urban areas,’’ said DG (Fire Services) Binoy Behera.
The Fire Services Wing has already procured 12 such tankers, seven with 10,000 litres capacity and five with 15,000 litres. "We are clearing the necessary procedures to procure more such tankers for fire stations across the State,’’ Behera informed.
As of now, the State has 317 fire stations keeping with the Government’s objective of a fire station in each block. Twenty-two more fire stations will come up soon.
To keep a watch on vulnerable pockets like Bhuban in Dhenkanal, the Range Officers have been instructed to set up temporary fire stations too.
According to available statistics, the strengthening of the Fire Services Wing has led to more property being saved in the last three years. The loss of property in 2014 stood at `85 crore which dropped to Rs 64.46 crore in 2015. Last year, it was Rs 70 crore. During the same period, the property saved has risen from Rs 235 crore in 2014 to Rs 342 crore in 2016.