Lucknow, 13 April (HS): The state

government is going to organize various programs for three days from April 14

under the Fire Safety Week to strengthen the fire services and make the general

public aware of fire safety. Awareness campaigns will be conducted across the

state including rallies, essay writing, painting competitions, lectures, mock

drills, seminars in educational institutions. The government has equipped the

fire service with modern resources in the last one year.

ADG Fire Padmaja Chauhan said that

Fire Safety Week will be celebrated across the state from April 14. Under this,

various programs will be organized from April 14 to April 16. It will start

with Smriti Diwas Parade, Pin Flag. After this, the public will be made aware

by taking out fire rallies from all the fire stations for three days. Also,

painting, essay writing and lectures will be organized for school children in

educational institutions through fire stations established at the district

headquarters and tehsil level. Apart from this, fire safety audit will be done

in multiplexes, malls, hospitals, industrial units and government offices along

with fire mock drill so that preparation to deal with any emergency can be

ensured. Along with this, fire safety awareness campaign will be run by the

fire officer in charge in rural areas.

ADG Fire said that the fire

department has been equipped with many modern technologies. In the financial

year 2024-25, modern vehicles and equipment were purchased with an amount of

more than 184 crores. This includes 18 multi disaster response vehicles, three

articulating water towers, 75 FQRVs, 135 emergency motor engine bikes, 36 water

tenders (capacity 4500/5000 liters), 45 Bolero campers, 16 Isuzu utility

vehicles, 40 portable pumps and 30 backpack pumps. Various equipment were

purchased with an amount of more than 24 crores.

He informed that in the year 2024,

firefighters have responded to 54,801 fire accidents in the state, in which

4,252 persons and 6,540 animals were rescued, while property worth Rs 8 billion

65 crores was saved. 19 schemes were run across the state to prevent fire

accidents. Under this, 18,787 mock drills and evacuation drills were organized

in a year. During this, 4,37,315 persons were made aware through awareness

campaigns.

ADG Fire said that to prevent fire

accidents during summer, 69 seasonal fire stations were set up at tehsil

headquarters of districts in rural areas from March 1 to June 30. Winter season

fire stations were set up from October 1 to December 31 to prevent winter fire

accidents. 44,463 applications have been received on the online NOC portal of

Uttar Pradesh Fire Service from the year 2024 till now for obtaining fire NOC,

out of which 34,422 applicants were given NOC, while the rest are under

process.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi