Director of Fire and Emergency Services Nitin Raikar, along with his team and Mapusa Municipal Council officials, inspects the Mapusa market on Tuesday to assess fire preparedness, following the recent devastating Vasco market blaze.
MAPUSA
A fire emergency in the crowded Mapusa marketcould turn into a race against time, with five fire hydrants installed in thearea found to be non-functional, potentially forcing fire tenders to leave thesite to replenish their water supply.
The alarming situation came to light during aninspection conducted by Director of Fire and Emergency Services Nitin Raikarand his team in the wake of the devastating Vasco market fire, which guttedover 140 shops.
The inspection revealed that all five firehydrants in the Mapusa market were effectively defunct, raising seriousconcerns over the market's preparedness to deal with a major fire.
Raikar said instructions had been issued toofficials concerned to take immediate measures to restore the hydrants andensure that they were operational on priority.
“It is important that fire hydrants are up andfunctional. Otherwise, when a fire brigade vehicle exhausts its water supply,it has to rush to bring more water, resulting in a loss of precious time,”Raikar said.
The absence of functioning hydrants isparticularly concerning given the scale and density of the Mapusa market, whichhouses over 1,000 shops spread across approximately 10,000 square metres.
In the event of a major fire, the availabilityof a continuous water supply could prove crucial in preventing flames fromspreading from one establishment to another.
Raikar also stressed the need to maintainclear access routes within the market so that fire tenders and other emergencyvehicles can reach the affected spot without obstruction.
The inspection comes amid renewed scrutiny offire safety arrangements in Goa's crowded commercial establishments followingthe Vasco market tragedy. Last week, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate had alsoinspected the Mapusa market and flagged several measures that need to beimplemented to improve safety.
With the five hydrants found non-functional,the inspection has exposed a basic but critical gap in the market's fire preparedness.
While instructions have now been issued torestore the facilities, the larger concern is whether the authorities will actbefore an emergency puts the arrangements to the test.
