VASCO
The shifting was taken up after Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho handed over the premises to Vasco Fire Station Officer Fransisco Mendes in the presence of Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar, ZP Anita Thorat, Councillors and others.
Speaking to reporters, Godinho said it was vital that the fire and emergency services be housed in a proper location especially considering that the department was catering to a lot of cases in the monsoons.
"We have shifted the fire station to this new premises of the cyclone disaster management shelter building which was taken up with the help of assistance of World Bank and central funds. These premises in Dabolim and Zuarinagar were built to shelter people in case of a cyclone and one floor of this huge building is being formally handed over to the fire services because they also reach out to the people.”
“The issue of the shortage of fire department staff will also be resolved once the new recruitment process begins,” said Godinho.
Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar said a new infrastructure was being readied for the Vasco fire station near the KTC bus stand.
"The piling works for the new Vasco fire station has already begun. The fire station is very important and caters to various sensitive installations in the Taluka and if we can't keep them safe, their work can be hampered and affected. These premises will be used for around a year till the new Vasco fire station building is complete," said Salkar.
'Sufficient space at temporary site'
VASCO: Vasco fire station officer Fransisco Mendes said the temporary location at the Disaster Management Shelter in Dabolim provides sufficient space to house the fire tenders and equipment as well.
"This spacious premises will help us a lot. We had issues with equipment during the last monsoon because we have to carry out maintenance of our equipment after every call but we did not have space and we had to send the equipment outside for maintenance works,” said Mendes.
The Goa State Fire Services has opened two new fire stations at Cuncolim and Porvorim and this is the reason why some staff from across all Goa fire stations have been moved to these places. The process for new recruitments is underway," he said.
