The burning issue

KOCHI: When a fire broke out in a building in Ernakulam a few months ago, the fire and safety staff, who came to put out the fire  were in a dilemma. They did not have sufficient equipment to put out the fire that was rising at an alarming level.“This is what commonly happens in most fire stations in the state and Ernakulam is no different. This is happening mainly because the government does not believe in the safety of its people,” said sources in a fire station, here.Many of the fire stations across the state do not even have enough people to constitute a team. “In most cases there are only three firemen, one leading fireman and a few other personnel. If two similar accidents occur at the same time, we are forced to neglect one,” he said.        Also, fire force staff complain that in times of emergency, there is a huge dearth of foam availability. “There are hardly any foam tenders in the fire stations. Most of the time there is not even the availability of foam tins. Presently, the Aluva station has only two tins of foam,” sources said. Apart from the lack of sufficient staff and unavailability of foam tenders, most of the fire stations do not even have two pairs of scuba equipment. But Sabu S, faculty of the fire and safety engineering department, Cusat, believes that people also must take some responsibility  to handle mishaps. “It is true that most of our fire stations are not equipped to handle a large outbreak of fire. But the most important question is: How equipped are the people if a fire breaks out in their apartments?"According to the National Building Codes, every building should have a fire extinguisher and sufficient water should be available to put out the fire. In most of the buildings that are being built now, such facilities are available, but much of it is not being maintained. Also, it has been stated in the Building Codes that mock drills should be conducted once in a while at all residential complexes. But people think that once they have a house they are safe, Sabu said.A Fire and Rescue Services officer said: “We have come across many incidents wherein fire extinguishers at the buildings are not even working. Similar is the case of most petrol pumps. It is high time people opened their eyes and took steps to handle emergency situations.”