The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Tambaram fire services department plagued by inadequate infrastructure

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Tambaram fire services department plagued by inadequate infrastructure

K. Manikandan

There is an urgent need for another fire station to cater to city's southern suburbs. The fire station is covering the city's entire southern suburb

TAMBARAM: : Friday's fire accident at Tambaram has exposed the defects in the set-up of the Fire and Rescue Services Department. There is an urgent need to have another fire station to cater to the city's southern suburbs.

The Tambaram fire station, at present the only facility catering to the requirements of Chennai's southern suburbs, has just one fire tender. Last year, the firemen at the station attended nearly 300 calls.

This year they have so far attended 150 calls.

Official sources said the lone fire tender and its overworked staff has had to cover more than 100 villages in Tambaram taluk, which is almost as vast as the Chennai Corporation.

In the absence of high-rise buildings in this region, there is no necessity for sophisticated vehicles like the Snorkel. But there is an urgent need for more vehicles.

Medavakkam preferred

As the fire station is located on the GST Road, the fire truck has to cross the railway track every time it has to attend calls from Chromepet, Medavakkam, Madipakkam and other areas.

Invariably the vehicle is trapped at the level crossing.

Though the urgent need for a fire station has been felt by firemen as well, there does not seem to be any progress on the issue.

Firemen say the department has to open another fire station in Medavakkam.

Fire tenders can then reach Sholinganallur, Madipakkam, Pallikaranai and Madambakkam faster.

This would also ease pressure on the Tambaram fire personnel.

Firemen need to be provided with walkie-talkie sets to increase efficiency.

The firemen said in the event of emergencies, they had to depend on telephone booths, or borrow mobile phones from onlookers and at times, utilise the telephone at the accident spot to make calls.

Incidentally, the outgoing facility at the control room's telephone has been severed due to non-payment of bills.

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