National Fire Services Day held

THE GOAN NETWORK

PANAJI

Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Thursday appealed to the public to take care so that no untoward incidents of fire take place in and around their vicinity. He was speaking at a function organised to observe the National Fire Force Day at fire force ground in St Inez.

Parsekar said, “The recent incident of fire in Kerala where over a hundred people lost their lives is a lesson for everyone. It is not only the responsibility of fire fighters, but also of the people to take care that no such incidents occur in their respective areas.”

Also present on the occasion were Panaji MLA Sidharth Kuncalienkar, Chief Secretary RK Shrivastav, and NCC cadets, among others. The theme of the Fire Prevention Week this year is ‘Prevent Fire Accidents - Promote Nation’s Development.’

Director of Fire Services Ashok Menon said, “Community education in fire safety and disaster preparedness are the critical areas where the function of the Department and participation by community are overlapping. We have been making efforts to spread basic fire safety awareness and disaster preparedness to the community at village-level.”

He also informed that in the ‘Safer School, Safer India’ initiative, 46 primary teachers from 27 schools in Tiswadi taluka have been imparted education in fire prevention.

“In anticipation of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the department has identified 30 fire personnel who have been imparted specialised skills in urban research and rescue, medical first responder, swift water flood rescue and power boat handling. They will be further trained in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN), he said.

11 fire personnel were honoured for their services which included four leading fire fighters and four fire fighters, among others.

Awards were also given to the winners of the poster competition.