Meaningful observance of National Fire Service Week
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: April 17, 2025 -

THE observance of National Fire Service Week every year is aimed at alerting the citizens and institutional heads/leaders on basic preventive measures and to keep in place safety kits to prevent outbreak of fire incidents as well as review overall preparedness of the fire fighters in averting collateral losses of properties through timely actions.

Activities during the weeklong observance held in commemoration of the April 14, 1944, Victoria Dock, Bombay explosion, include awareness campaigns, mock drills centring on prevention and safe rescue of people trapped in blazing buildings, examining whether owners Of multi-storeyed buildings are adhering to safety guidelines, including installation of hand-held fire extinguishers, honouring the 66 fire personnel who lost their lives in trying to contain fire outbreak on-board a ship laden with explosives, and reaffirming commitment by the fire-fighters to public safety.

Though the state is yet to witness calamitous fire incidents so far, outbreak of inferno of disastrous magnitude, especially in the urban areas, cannot be ruled out in the near future in view of the expanding population and narrowing of the by-lanes in various localities, that could hinder movement of the firefighters and their machines among other factors.

In Manipur's context, personnel of the Fire Service Department, which was bifurcated from the Manipur Police department in 1991, have been on their toes round the clock throughout the year to address emergency situation.

As per the official record, the state has 19 fire stations and a workforce of 288 personnel. However, as and when there is outbreak of fire incidents in localities, especially where there are no fire stations nearby, the fire fighters often face hostile crowd on the charge of belated arrival, lack of effective fire-fighting equipment, manpower inadequacies and exhaustion of dousing materials before containment of the blaze.

Despite such shortcomings and encountering public wrath, there is no doubt that the department has been playing a vital role in emergency situation, not necessarily limited to fire incidents but other natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and forest fires.

That the state could face major fire incidents anytime, could be comprehended from the department's record that during the 2024-25 financial year, it received 1,223 fire and special service calls, saved precious lives and properties worth crores of rupees,-apart from conducting 1,000 fire safety audits and mock drills across educational institutions, hospitals, hotels, and industries as preventive steps and provided basic training to over 2,000 employees.

Notwithstanding the fact that the department has recently established new fire sub-stations at Nambol, Sekmai, Loitang Khunou, and Lamlai-Sawombung, along with planning to set up more such sub-stations at Khumbong, Porompat, Litan, Noney, Tadubi, Saikul, Wangjing, Heirok, and Lilong, there is no guarantee that fire incidents would occur only in areas close to these facilities, for there are many institutions in rural and semi-urban areas, which lack the financial resources to upgrade fire safety infrastructure or purchase/install adequate fire-fighting equipment.

Hence, the government authority should focus on upgrading infrastructure, enhancing regulation, improving training programmes to create safer public spaces, and most importantly sensitising the public on the importance of paving the way for unhindered movement and operation of the firefighters.

One also can't ignore the fact that increasing public awareness about fire safety in private and public institutions can lead to better vigilance and adherence to safety standards.

Moreover, there should be constant monitoring to address emergency situations and implement robust fire safety mechanism such as making fire safety audits mandatory for all major institutions to improve compliance.