Article on Mysore Fire Brigade in Star of Mysore

FIRE BRIGADE

From Star of Mysore-Online

The Saraswathipuram Fire Station in Mysore is the oldest Fire Station in the State. During the British rule, this Fire Station was under the control of the old Madras region. It is housed in a heritage building built in the year 1942 at Saraswathipuram.

At present, there are three Fire Stations within Mysore city limits at Saraswathipuram, on Bangalore-Mysore Highway in Bannimantap and in the RBI premises. The Station at Saraswathipuram is the main Regional Office covering the districts of not only Mysore but also Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Hassan.

The Fire Station at Saraswathipuram is equipped with two water spraying engines, one tanker to carry water, one to spray mist based on German technology mounted inside a Jeep. There is even an Enfield motorcycle fitted with German fire fighting technology with Carbon dioixide to douse small fires at short notices. Similarly, the Bannimantap Fire Station also consists of a water tender, a multipurpose tender and a water tanker. The RBI Fire Station consists two water tenders. The water tender has the capacity to pump four to five thousands liters of water and the water tanker has the capacity to store 10 thousands of liters of water.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Regional Fire Officer H.S. Varada Rajan said that they are in the process of acquiring an Advanced Rescue Van which is equipped with essential equipments like steel cutting machine, tree cutting machine and concrete cutter, required during emergencies. He announced that fire fighting personnel do not involve only in dousing fires, but also in saving lives of people who are in danger. Fire fighting personnel are always ready to rescue lives of people in any situation who are in danger, like in collapse of buildings, accidental drowning and other life threatening situations.

Presently, there are 37 firemen working at the Saraswathipuram Fire Station, though the actual requirement is 51, while at the Bannimantap Station, 22 men are working though the actual requirement is 37 persons and in the RBI station 20 firemen are working where the actual need is 27. The remaining vacancies are in the process of being filled up, as the new recruits are currently undergoing training, said Varada Rajan.

Residential quarters have also been provided to these firemen which are in the premises itself. A fireman cannot leave the headquarters without obtaining permission of his higher officer. He should always be prepared not just during his working hours, but also all the day and night when he is present there.

Awareness Programmes:

Fire fighting personnel not only save the lives in critical moments, but also create awareness among the people by holding public demonstrations and giving lectures in schools, colleges, Government offices, Departments, summer camps, NSS camps, NCC camps and to Police trainees.

How to act in fire accidents:

Find, Inform, Restrict, and Extinguish (FIRE) are the keywords to be remembered in a fire accident. Soon after receiving an emergency call, the person in the control room informs the nearest fire station. When the fire station is informed, the fire engine driver immediately takes the fire engine outside and another person will start ringing the alarm bells to alert other fire men to join the fire engine. They always carry the topography of the city and town plan ready on hand to visit the spot. Fire fighting personnel will board the fire engine, after wearing their safety guards like helmets, arm guards, long shoes etc.

While sharing his experience that occurred recently, Varada Rajan said that in KR Nagar four men got down into a manhole and became unconscious. At that time, he luckily happened to be in KR Nagar, when somebody called him and informed about the mishap. He immediately ordered the locals to bring oxygen cylinders from hospitals and release the oxygen into the manhole. They were successful in taking three of them outside, but unfortunately, one man succumbed.

STUDENTS ASSOCIATION OF FIRE EDUCATION (SAFE)
This is a unique program of training the children, it is run only in Karnataka.
Karnataka State Fire Services Department started this program with the main aim of developing fire preventive habits among students by imparting training to the boys and girls (middle and high school students).

The modus operandi of SAFE is to identify and adopt a few schools and enrol students as the members of SAFE. The Department arranges free training for the members of SAFE, in their school premises. A day in a week, fortnight or month will be identified to introduce the theory part of the subject 'fire'. With the help of the school teaching staff, free slots will be identified for practical training in identification of portable extinguishers, judicious use of portable extinguishers, methods of summoning fire services, do's and don'ts in an emergency, fire drills, rescue methodology and evacuation drill. This training may last for one year. After this training certificates are issued to the members. There are 16 different schools which are actively participating in this program. A program to train the trainers i.e., school teachers in basic fire prevention, fire fighting and evacuation who in turn train the members of SAFE, is also designed.

Bylaws for SAFE
Members willing to join the association should be bonafide students of a school in the city.
They should remain in the Students' Association of Fire Education for one year. They will be issued a certificate by the Dept. by the end of the year. They should attend the training program once a month regularly in the afternoon after classes in their schools. The training will be conducted by the Karnataka State Fire Services Department's instructors, at the school premises. The head of the educational institution will select a teacher and nominate him/her as 'Fire Warden' of the SAFE, who will take care of the attendance and other matters of the Association. Members of SAFE are not eligible for a certificate if the attendance is less than 75%.
The members of the SAFE will carry a cloth arm band (SAFE) on the right arm. Members should attend functions organised by the Department in respect of fire safety. Members of SAFE may need to participate in the march past during Republic Day and Independence Day parades, and also during Fire Service Week celebrations. (14th April to 20th April). Competition of various types for the members, including inter / intra school of SAFE will be held from time to time, to introduce competitive spirit. Each school shall have a Captain nominated from among the members by the Department called 'SAFE-Captain'. A SAFE-Captain may need to attend meetings convened by Director/Commandant of the Training College/Chief Fire Officer at any convenient location. During the training period, the Department will arrange a visit of the members of SAFE to any one fire station in Bangalore city.

For Fire Emergency Dial - 101
In case of emergency contact fire stations:
Saraswathipuram - 2540970, Bannimantap - 2495101, RBI - 2582103, Mysore Regional Fire Officer (RFO) - 2540116, website: www.karnatakafireservices.gov.in