Perception of fire force has changed positively: CM

Public opinion about the Fire and Rescue Services has changed to a people-friendly force that provides help in all kinds of dangerous situations, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

He was speaking after giving away Fire and Rescue Services medals and inaugurating the functioning of modern equipment at the Fire and Rescue Services headquarters here on Wednesday.

This year, the Chief Minister’s fire medals were presented to 25 personnel. This honour should inspire other personnel too, Mr. Vijayan said.

Underlining the significant role played by rescue operations and personnel in hazardous situations, he pointed out that Kerala had recognised this more than once in recent times. The Fire and Rescue Services had played an active role in disaster management during Ockhi, floods, or landslides. During the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide, they were the first responders and safely evacuated the survivors. They also rescued people who were covered with mud the next morning. In these times of climate change and global warming, it was imperative to modernise the force to equip it to function effectively. The government has decided to equip the force to overcome any disaster , he said.

 The government had started new fire stations and launched the modernisation of the force and infrastructure improvement. Now, it was making available underwater drones that could play a critical role in disasters occurring in waterbodies. Instead of searching an entire waterbody. images provided by the drones would make it possible to determine where exactly search operations have to be conducted. A firefighting robot that would help douse fires in situations where fire personnel could not reach, was also being considered. Systems such as mobile wireless base station had already been provided to address inadequacies in mobile communications, the Chief Minister said.  

Published - November 27, 2024 08:44 pm IST