Seven more fire stations to come up in city

New utility:The spanking new fire station at Kaikondanahalli was inaugurated in Bangalore on Saturday.

Bangalore: Home Minister R. Ashok on Saturday said that seven more fire stations would be set up in different parts of the city, including Banashankari, Nagarabhavi, Sunkadakatte and Whitefield. He was speaking after inaugurating a new fire station at Kaikondanahalli on Sarjapur Road set up by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (CREDAI)–Bangalore. “Land for the seven stations has already been identified. We need more fire stations for a vast city like Bangalore,” he said. He emphasised the need to create awareness about how the fire department can help handle emergency situations not only during fire but also in rescuing people during other emergencies. “The focus should be on providing training to fire personnel to handle all kinds of emergency situations,” he said.

Certification mandatory
To ensure that all high-rise buildings in the city adopt adequate fire safety measures, the Government will make it mandatory for owners of such buildings to obtain fire safety certification from the Fire and Emergency Services Department at least once in two years, he said. Director of Fire and Emergency Services D.V. Guruprasad said with the inauguration of the new fire station, the total number of fire stations had gone up to 13 in the city and 168 in Karnataka. He thanked CREDAI Bangalore for setting up the modern fire station in the city. “It is also a special occasion as February 23 marks the first anniversary of the Carlton Fire Tragedy,” he said. He said the department would soon start an audit of all fire equipment and preventive measures in all high-rise buildings in the city. “Even though a no-objection certificate is acquired before construction of high-rise buildings, no one adheres to the set guidelines. This audit programme will ensure that all high-rise buildings are inspected and checked for fire security and fire preventive measures,” he said. CREDAI president Sushil Mantri said the fire station had been set up as part of CREDAI's corporate social responsibility. “We have more such projects coming up,” he said, after formally handing over the keys of the fire station to Mr. Guruprasad.

Model station
The fire station, built on a half-acre land is one of the model fire stations in the city. It can accommodate over five fire engines and is equipped with a gym, restroom for officials, quarters for staff, among other resources. The former Higher Education Minister Arvind Limbavali, MP from Chickpet P.C. Mohan and others were present.