Mysore gets hi-tech rescue van

PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM
Equipped: Fire and Emergency Services personnel with Regional Fire Officer C. Gurulingaiah (left) in front of a rescue van at the Saraswathipuram Fire Station in Mysore on Friday.

MYSORE: As a first step towards integrating various technologies for effective management of emergencies in Mysore, the Regional Office of the Department Fire and Emergency Services at Saraswathipuram here has procured an ultra-modern rescue van equipped with devices necessary to swiftly attend to disasters such as floods, building collapse, boat tragedies and train and road accidents. The vehicle arrived here on Friday when the city is gearing up to host the annual 10-day long Dasara festivities which attract tourists from far and wide. The van, cost of which is estimated at Rs. 1 crore, has been procured under the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF). Six such hi-tech vans have been procured for the State, including one for Mysore.

Regional Fire Officer C. Gurulingaiah told The Hindu that Karnataka was the first State to have such vans fitted with equipment that were essential to handle emergencies. Emergencies could be handled effectively with such a facility, he added. “The vehicle has been designed according to requirements of the Fire and Emergency Services Department and most of the equipment in it are imported,” he said Mr. Gurulingaiah said that the van was equipped with four hydraulic-driven portable generators used to operate devices such as iron and concrete cutters and high-speed saw machines. “The van has a device that helps in removing mangled metal of vehicles to facilitate rescue operations after accidents.” It has a lifeboat to attend to drowning incidents, thermal imaging cameras to see objects in dark areas and a pair of aluminium suit, a protective gear for fire personnel.

Apart from a 35-ft manually operated ladder fitted to the van, the vehicle has hydraulic searchlights with 360 degree rotating system.
“When power supply is snapped during emergencies such as building collapse, these lights will be useful for carrying out rescue operations,” he said. The van is also equipped with a specially manufactured generator, which runs when the vehicle’s engine is turned on, life jackets and ropes. Six persons can operate the devices in the van during rescue operations.

7 New Fire Stations for Bangalore

Bangalore to have seven more fire stations

Proud moment: Recipients of the Chief Minister’s Medal in Bangalore on Monday.
Bangalore: The State Government would set up seven new fire stations in the city shortly and they would start functioning from next year, Home Minister V.S. Acharya said here on Monday.
He was speaking after distributing the Chief Minister’s Medals to personnel of the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services (KFES) and Home Guards and Civil Defence officers.The decision to open the new fire stations had been made as firemen were not able to reach the 12 existing fire stations in the city owing to traffic congestion, he said.The investiture ceremony was held at the R.A. Mundkur Fire and Emergency Service Academy on Bannerghatta Road and saw a gathering of over 300 people.

DA raised
Dr. Acharya also said that the travel and dearness allowance that firemen claimed during fire incidents would be raised from Rs. 20 to Rs. 50. Another highlight of the investiture ceremony was the launch of the Arogya Bhagya Yojane, which was introduced for the Karnataka State Police. This has now been extended to personnel of the Fire and Emergency Services Department as well Home Guards and civil defence personnel. After the general salute, march past and review order, the awardees were given their medals. The presentation of ranks to the Civil Defence Wardens also took place.
The KFES website was also re-launched by Dr. Acharya.

Bus catches fire

BANGALORE: A private bus caught fire in a parking area at Kalasipalyam on Friday night, leading to a traffic jam and delaying departure of other buses. No one was hurt. The bus, belonging to SRMS Transport Company which runs services on Anekal, Attibele and Mavalli routes, caught fire around 8.30 p.m. due to a short circuit in the vehicle’s battery unit. Luckily, there were no passengers in the vehicle.Fire and Emergency Service personnel rushed two fire tenders to the spot and it took nearly an hour to douse the blaze. Other buses were cleared from the area and traffic was diverted, leading to a gridlock and delaying the departure of buses.

3 killed as 4 houses collapse in Hubli

Three persons, including two women were killed, when four houses located in a complex of total 12 houses, collapsed in the Ganeshpet area in Hubli on Wednesday morning.

DH News Service, Hubli:
According to police, the deceased belonged to two houses and they have been identified as Rizan Mumtaz Morab (32) who belonged to one family, Babajaan Hussainsaab Hukkewale (55), and Salia Kausar (25) hailing from Bangalore. Salia had recently completed her BE, and had come to her relatives house. She was returning back to Bangalore on Wednesday night.
Gone damp
As rains had lashed Hubli city continuously for few days, this old housing complex, built of mud and bricks many decades ago, had gone damp. Consequently on Wednesday morning, four walls of this complex collapsed, wherein eight people were buried in the rubble.However, as people and fire fighting personnel came to the rescue, five people were rescued from the rubble. But, the three were not so lucky, as they died before they were rescued. The injured have been admitted to the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) here.The complex, located near the fish market at Kulkarni Hakkalu in Ganeshpet, houses 12 families. These families stated that even though they had warned the complex owner Shambulinga Mahadevappa Jagali that the complex was old and was on the verge of collapse, still no measures had been taken to demolish the complex.

1 killed, over 60 houses collapsed

Torrential rains wash away festive spirit.

DH News Service, Chikkaballapur:
More than 60 houses have collapsed and a person lost life due to the torrential rains that lashed the district in the last two days.
A person has died of house collapse in Mallur of Shidlaghatta taluk. The name of the deceased is given as Munianjinappa (45). More than ten houses in the low-lying areas of Bhagatsingh Nagar, Nakkalakunte and Prashanth Nagar in the town have collapsed. Rain water gushed into houses in new bus stand area and those located behind govt first grade college. Articles of daily necessity have been washed away in the flooding waters. Police constables and fire fighting personnel strived hard the entire night in draining out water, collected to a level of five feet, from the area behind cocoon market in the city. Municipal workers and personnel from fire fighting department were seen engaged in clearing water clogging in the area, mostly populated by labouring class. The fury of incessant rains have washed away festive spirit in the taluk.

Preparing people in the event of an earthquake

Getting ready: A person being rescued by Fire and Emergency Services personnel
during a mock drill in Mangalore on Saturday.
MANGALORE: It all started at 11.40 a.m. on Saturday with the menacing sound of a siren that seemed straight out of a World War II movie. Within seconds the gloomy environs of the Deputy Commissioner’s office became the centre of action. For the first few seconds after the siren went off, all the people present crouched for cover. After a minute they trooped out of their offices in single file with handkerchiefs covering their mouths and noses.Even before the people on the higher floors came down, the Fire and Emergency Services personnel charged into the building with ropes, ladders, axes, cylinders and hoses. Soon after people fit enough to make it on their own left the building, the “injured” were brought down. Some on stretchers were lowered to the ground from the balconies on the first and second floors with the help of ropes.

Foolproof system

The Fire and Emergency Services personnel displayed just how foolproof their system was. The look of relief was palpable on the faces of the “injured” as they were set down. Within minutes the first ambulances descended on the scene, sirens blaring. Paramedics from the Health Department and K.M.C Hospital took care of the injured. It soon came to light that it was actually a mock earthquake preparedness drill organised by the district Disaster Management Cell in association with the Fire Department, Home Guards and the Health Department. The exercise was completed in 40 minutes. Addressing the media after the event, Deputy Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao expressed satisfaction over the manner in which the exercise was conducted. He said that similar exercises would be carried out in other high-rise buildings in the city in the next few weeks.

Chief Fire Officer of the district H.S Varadarajan, who coordinated the event, however, said that there was a lot more to be achieved.