ARIYALUR: A fire on Tuesday led to the houses of the differently abled Murugesan and his son Sivakumar of Colony Street at Varanavasi in Ariyalur district getting severely damaged. While firefighters were reportedly late in reaching the spot due to the vehicle malfunctioning, the incident has brought to the fore once again the demand for an exclusive space for the district fire and rescue services department.
Since Ariyalur was carved out as the 31st district of Tamil Nadu in 2007, nearly all administrative units have set up separate offices, save for the fire and rescue services department. The district’s fire station has been operating out of the Ariyalur taluk office complex for more than 40 years. While the station officer and firefighters also work out of the complex, the District Fire Officer's office is in Perambalur.
Since the fire station functions out of the taluk office complex, the movement of fire engines is obstructed by the many parked vehicles, which has hit the response time in the event of a fire
Several petitions for a separate building for the department and a District Fire officer's office had been placed with the District Collector, but to no avail.
Noting that Ariyalur district has seen over 12 Collectors in the past 14 years, R Sankar of Perambalur said, “More than 400 people visit the Ariyalur taluk office complex every day. In this situation, firefighters struggle to get out their vehicles to respond to an emergency. Ariyalur has a lot of huts. Fire accidents are also occurring in many places, but there are frequent complaints that the firefighters arrive at the spot late. The district administration should take immediate action in this regard."
P Suyam Prakasam, an activist, said, "The District Fire Officer’s work is very important here and no work can be done legally without the officer. Additional advanced equipment is likely to be available for the station if a separate District Fire Officer is set up here. Similarly vehicles will also arrive on time in the event of emergencies."
When contacted, an official from the Ariyalur fire and rescue services department said, "We were allotted places for a new building. We could not build it without funds. We are taking action in this regard."