Emergency services to get more efficient

MYSORE: The handling of fire disasters and medical emergencies in the State may soon get much more efficient. Three senior officers from the State's Department of Fire and Emergency Services recently returned from the U.K. after a month-long advanced fire safety and management training. Fire Safety College at Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire, which offers advanced training courses for fire officers from Britain and other countries, trained the fire officers of the ranks of Regional Fire Officer and District Fire Officer from 10 states, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The fire officers from the State were Gurulingaiah (Mysore), Shivashankar and Eshwar Nayak (both Bangalore).

Centre sponsored

The Union Government had sponsored the training as part of a scheme of the Ministry of Home Affairs to strengthen the fire and emergency services in the country by introducing advanced technologies and better fire-fighting techniques. Most importantly, schoolchildren and the masses will also be educated on fire safety. The trained officials will be resource persons for advanced training of fire personnel at the Fire and Emergency Services Academy, Bangalore, and also in upgrading the syllabus for new recruits at the National Fire Service College, Nagpur, under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The three officers from Karnataka have been invited to Nagpur on April 28 for their inputs on effective training. Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Gurulingaiah said the training in the U.K. was an attempt to improve the academic knowledge of the department. “It was very helpful; we would be able to strengthen the services making use of the knowledge and the state-of-the-art equipment being introduced,” he said. Urban search and rescue operations, firemen as first medical responder, basic operational training, and hands-on training on advanced equipment were part of their four-week course, he said. Mysore recently acquired an ultramodern rescue van fitted with equipment to handle crises such as floods, building collapse, boat accidents, and other disasters. Apart from a 35-ft, manually operated ladder fitted to the van, the vehicle has hydraulic searchlights that can rotate 360 degrees. The van is also equipped with lifejackets, ropes and a specially manufactured generator.