Kochi: Fire mishaps like the latest one at premises of Hindustan Insecticide Ltd due to leakage of hazardous material is not a one off incident at Eloor in Kochi, the state’s chemical hub. Yet fire fighting mechanisms of both the Kerala Fire Force and that employed by companies themselves in the region are grossly inadequate. The Eloor Fire Station, which got 225 distress calls so far this year alone, has surprisingly no equipment to fight chemical explosions or their leak.
“The station, located in the industrial zone of the district, is expected to handle chemical and industrial emergencies. However, we lack modern facilities to handle such crisis situations. All that we have are foam pumps and fire extinguishers which are effective only if the intensity of chemical explosion is very low. We don’t even have fire proximity suites,” said a senior officer.
This even as the fire station is already plagued by shortage of personnel and equipment. There are only three drivers across three shifts for the three vehicles, two of them fire engines. One of the fire engines is nearly 15 years old. “It’s hard to attend to two simultaneous mishaps”. “We don’t have an Emergency tender vehicle. When a mishap happens, it has to be rushed in from the main fire station at Gandhi Nagar. Similarly there is no mechanism for refilling the two oxygen cylinders we have. Again we’ve to depend on the main station in city. Also there is no scuba diving equipment,” the official said.
Similarly, most of the Industrial units lack trained personnel and has Fire Safety wings for only namesake. “A recent inspection has revealed that only two companies – FACT and BSES out of the over 200 industries have satisfactory fire fighting mechanism.” Meanwhile the industrial units are slowly realizing the intensity of the issue post the recent mishap. “We’ve decided to purchase Fire proximity suites and Fire Entry suites as part of strengthening the Fire Safety unit,” a HIL official said.
