State Fire dept plans to train Puja club members on firefighting mechanism

Kolkata: State Fire and Emergency department is planning to impart special training among the representatives from various clubs on firefighting mechanism before the Pujas.

State Fire minister Sujit Bose on Sunday shared his department's plan in this connection. He was addressing a gathering in Basirhat sub-division of North 24-Parganas where he inaugurated a new fire station near Badartala-Itinda road. The fire station has come up at an estimated cost of Rs 3.66 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that a workshop would be conducted by the state Fire and Emergency department where representatives from various clubs in the state would be given training on how to take precautionary measures to check fire incidents. It was often found that the Puja organisers are not aware of how to extinguish the flames in and around a Puja pandal. Sands are often kept near the pandals but the members are not properly trained to address the crisis.

It would be extremely handy if the Puja organisers and the members of the local clubs are properly trained with basic ideas as to how a fire incident should be handled before the firefighters reach the spot, Bose added. He also mentioned here that comprehensive training would be provided to the club members on how to check if there is a minor incident of fire.

Director General of Fire Jag Mohan who also attended the programme maintained that the department is taking up a number of steps to modernise the firefighting system in the state. Online service has been introduced to issue fire licenses within less time. Bengal has the record number of fire stations, he said. Basirhat MP Nusrat Jahan and the district's administrative officers were also present at the event.