State pitches for efficient and effective fire service

Under a proposal for an ordinance,approved by the Haryana Cabinet recently,the owners of cinema houses,five-star hotels,large commercial complexes,large oil and natural gas installations,open stadia and hospitals,with more than 500 beds,will have to appoint a fire safety officer.

The officers will ensure compliance of all fire prevention and fire safety measures. They will have to undergo training at the Fire Safety Management Academy or any other academy specified by the state government. The state is not just expected to have a unified and effective fire service,but also have administrative and operational efficiency. The ordinance has also empowered the government to augment the service by raising an auxiliary service. Under the new rules,erectors of pandals will now have to display at a prominent place,a declaration on a prescribed format,that he has taken all specified fire prevention and fire safety measures.

With not much time left for the the budget session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha,the government may bring a bill on the same proposal,according to sources.

The fire services in the state are maintained by different departments such as the Directorate of Urban Local Bodies,Haryana,the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam,Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board,the Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation,the Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd (Hafed) and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). It has been felt that the fire services should be brought under one roof. Even the Centre has been pressing upon the state to bring the fire services under a separate department.