New fire stations, not gear

The fire department has decided to set up six new fire stations in the city and the suburbs at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore to avoid delay during emergencies.

Fire minister Javed Khan made the announcement last week. “It becomes difficult for firemen to tackle a blaze as it takes a lot of time to reach the spot because of the distance between the place and the fire station. So we have decided to set up more fire stations,” the minister said.

He added that the new fire stations have been proposed on the EM Bypass (near Pragati Maidan police station), inside Jadavpur University, on Strand Road and in Kidderpore, Baruipur and Garia. “The land for the first three fire stations have been identified. Work will start after we receive the clearances from the finance department,” Khan said.

The plan has attracted criticism from senior officials of the department, who questioned the wisdom behind building new fire stations at such a high cost (Rs 1.25 crore each) without first clearing plans to procure much-needed equipment and creating infrastructure for better firefighting.

“Earlier, in most cases, men and machines from bigger stations were moved to smaller ones. But new recruitment and procurements were hardly ever made,” said a senior official of the fire department. He also questioned the logic behind some of the proposed locations. “Strand Road has two fire stations nearby — at Mohammad Ali Park and Poddar Court. Why set up another one within a radius of a kilometre?”

Another official said: “It is a good idea to set up more fire stations but latest equipment and better infrastructure are the need of the hour. Simply opening new stations will not solve the problems.”

He said the fire department had struggled during the AMRI fire because of the lack of breathing apparatus. “The firemen do not even have proper boots or flashlights. Most ladders are manual. There should be more small engines fitted with electronic ladders. Priority should be given to these.”

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