Odisha imparts fire safety training to private organizations

Bhubaneswar: In a major step to promptly deal with fire-related emergencies, 18 persons from private organizations enrolled in the first batch of Fire Safety Supervisor program were given training by Odisha Fire Services department on various fire fighting measures in Bhubaneswar today.

As per a proposal of the government, various organisations in the State have appointed their fire safety officers to undergo the one month training provided by Odisha Fire & Disaster Response Academy (OFDRA), Bhubaneswar.

"Odisha Fire Services for the first time is training outsiders as Fire Safety Supervisors, as per the direction of DG BK Sharma. We had a plan to train 30 persons in each batch, 18 persons are enrolled in the first batch of the training that started on April 2 and will continue for a month. The course includes training on both theoretical and practical aspects," said Vice-Principal of OFDRA, BN Mohanty.

OFDRA authorities took the 18 trainees to Z1 Apartments in Bhubaneswar where they gained hands-on experience on use of water sprinkler, steps to douse flames with help of heavy water tankers and use of available fire safety equipment in case of emergency.

"We at Z1 have the number one fire safety system in Odisha, which is fully automatic. The trainees were glad to see the features and said they are going to ask their organisations to install similar fire safety systems," said Fire Safety Officer of Z1 Apartments, Manas Ranjan Mandoi.

"The training of Fire Safety Supervisor will help us a lot practically. We will surely recommend our authorities to bring in the needed changes in the fire safety systems at our organisations," said Fire Safety Officer of Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar, Sarat Kumar Mohanty.