Rs 150 cr spent on modernising firefight equipment: minister

The West Bengal government has spent Rs 150 crore to modernise firefighting equipment and install GPS in fire-tenders, Javed Ahmed Khan, Fire services and Disaster Mqanagement minister, today said.
Stating that the West Bengal fire department was much better equipped than before to prevent and handle fire, he said that in the past four years, it had spent Rs 150 crore to strengthen and modernize firefighting equipment and machineries.
"The response mechanism is now much faster. Now, we have a 24-hour monitoring system in place. We have also installed GPS in fire-tenders. The idea is to track how quickly our personnel are responding to fires", he said at the CII-organised seminar here on 'fire safety - mitigating fire hazards'.

"We have modernized our control room and have brand new equipment, including two new ladders - one measuring 54 metres and the other 42 metres," he said.
He said that fire safety preparedness is something which required awareness and cooperation from all stakeholders, including the industry.
"Since the government cannot work alone, I urge CII to take the lead role in sensitizing its member companies on the need for a robust preventive firefighting system. All you need is set aside just 5-10 percent on prevention of fire", he said.
He said that the fire service department would soon launch a year-long awareness programme in the electronic media to sensitise people at large.