English Bazar Municipality is going to request for jumping cushions and ladders from the concerned department for fire fighting in high-rise buildings in the EBM area. A set of rules to be maintained by these buildings were also framed in a meeting of the Board of Councillors (BOC) on Monday afternoon.
Many high-rises are coming up in the municipal area. However, most of them do not have proper fire fighting systems. This has emerged as a major challenge for the Fire department. Malda Fire Department still does not have adequate infrastructure to fight an inferno in six to seven storeyed buildings.
In this situation, English Bazar municipality is relying on jumping cushions and ladders for fire incidents outside the fire fighting range (height). The chairman has applied to the departmental minister to get them.
On Friday evening, a fire broke out in a municipal housing building located at Bhavani More from a flat that was used as a warehouse by a trader in the building. Though there were no casualties, it created panic among the residents. Following this, the chairman, along with several councillors visited the spot along with EBM officials, Electricity and Fire departments.
Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, chairman of EBM, said: “I have applied for jumping cushions and ladders to state minister Sujit Basu for similar incidents in high-rises. The municipality is very old and flats have been constructed in small, narrow lanes. We are also thinking to ensure fire safety norms in these residential buildings after thorough discussions with the Fire department. We are to frame a set of rules in the meeting of BOC to be followed by the building like constituting a committee on fire fighting; provisions to use stored water for firefighting; having fire extinguishers in proper places. For now, it has been decided that no one can use his or her flat for commercial purposes, especially warehouses, else legal action will be taken as per specific law.”