Kishtwar :: District Development Commissioner, Dr. Devansh Yadav chaired a significant meeting in his office chamber to discuss and implement a comprehensive plan to improve fire safety measures, response capabilities, and overall preparedness in the Kishtwar town.
The meeting witnessed the participation of President MC Kishtwar, Sajjad Ahmed Najjar, Dy. SP Dr Ishan Gupta, AD Fire & Emergency Services, Amit Shajotra, ExEn PHE, Sunil Sharma, EO Municipality, Ninad Sen besides Sheikh Asgar of Red Cross and others.
During the meeting, an exhaustive discussion took place, focusing on the recent Fire Incident in the town, assessment of the Existing Fire Safety Measures, Identifying any gaps or areas where improvements are needed, improvement in response time of the fire and emergency department, assessment of the adequacy of firefighting resources, including personnel, equipment, and vehicles, training programs and capacity-building initiatives for firefighters and emergency response teams, Identify areas where additional training or resources are required.
In addition to this, the deliberations centered round the strategic installation of Fire Hydrants in the Kishtwar town at 13 critical locations.
Dr. Devansh Yadav issued directives for the immediate procurement of hydrants to be installed within a month, ensuring expedited progress.
Concerned Departments assured that within 2 weeks of time, the first Fire Hydrant will be installed at ward number 6 and the rest will be placed in the given timeline.
The Fire & Emergency Services received instructions to maintain an adequate supply of firefighting equipment, including fire extinguishing materials and fire suppression balls, to effectively address emergencies.
Furthermore, the PHE department was entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining a dedicated water tanker on standby to respond to any fire incidents promptly. All departments involved were also advised to maintain an integrated and prompt response system to ensure swift coordination during emergencies.
The Deputy Commissioner while speaking on the occasion also gave thrust to consider conducting regular fire drills and exercises to test the preparedness of response teams and assess the effectiveness of emergency protocols.
In the meeting ,the Deputy Commissioner stressed that collaborative efforts are pivotal to the successful deployment of Fire Hydrants at all 13 designated locations within the town and added that the Nodal Team comprising of Fire & Emergency department, Police, PHED and Municipal council should be collectively responsible for ensuring prompt fire response in the time.
The members present in the meeting congratulated brave fire fighters and PHED staff who continued fire fighting work on 12th September, at ward No. 6 despite instances of physical violence.
The Deputy Commissioner directed police for strict action against those who take law in their own hands with an aim to ensure a safe environment for Government personnel on ground during the incident.
