the goan I network
VASCO
When a city is home to several sensitive installations and key establishments, a capable fire services is of vital importance to the place.
But believe it or not, the fire emergency services in Vasco has been operating from a small room that doubles up as an operating station and barack since the last few years.
The Vasco fire services, which caters to over 1 lakh residents in Mormugao taluka, has been forced to occupy three small rooms. While two rooms have been allotted to the storage of cupboards and other documents, one small room is being used by 16 personnel operating on any one shift and an operator who attends to calls. Besides, the fire brigades are parked in an open space.
According to sources, a two-storeyed building which housed the Vasco fire services was vacated in 2014, after the structure had been declared weak. The structure was subsequently demolished in 2017, but a new building has not been built on the vacant space.
The fire services personnel presently conduct virtually all operations from one small room. “The operator’s room and the barracks share the same space. The place is simply insufficient as we have to store all fire-saving equipment in the same room, said a source.
“Our operator works from the same area, which also doubles up as a rest room. We have a strength of 46 personnel and 16 of them are present in the room at any one shift,” the source added.
The Vasco fire services have to be on constant alert with vital installations like oil tanks, port installations, ammonia tanks and the Dabolim International Airport.
Statistics reveal that the Vasco fire services in 2018 handled around 300 incidents, saving property worth around Rs 2.46 crore.
Claiming that the Vasco fire services should not have left to operate from such pathetic conditions, former minister and NCP State President Jose Philip D’Souza on Tuesday criticised the government for doing nothing for the Vasco fire services. “If authorities demolished the old building, why was a new one not built in its place? The government should have taken up this construction on top priority. It’s a shame that the emergency services, which has been entrusted to protect and save people and property, have to operate in pathetic conditions,” said D’Souza.
