5000 Fire Personnel To Be Deployed Across Odisha During Diwali

Cuttack: With people across the State all set for a grand Diwali celebration tomorrow, the fire services department has put in place massive arrangements to handle emergencies, if any, arising out of the celebrations.

Briefing about the preparations for the festival, Chief fire officer Sukant Sethi said, "The fire services department is fully prepared to tackle any fire-related incident during the celebrations. About 5000 personnel, 350 officers and 900 vehicles from all the 337 fire stations across the state have been kept ready."

"In order to reduce the response time, temporary fire stations have been set up. Apart from three permanent fire stations, five temporary fire stations have been set up in Cuttack. Similarly, three temporary fire stations have also been set up in Bhubaneswar," Sethi said.

Besides, one temporary fire station each in Balasore, Bargarh, Berhampur and Sambalpur districts have been set up to fight any emergency situation during the Diwali celebrations.

"The response time is delayed in some cases due to traffic congestion. Therefore, motorcycles will be used to depart fire fighters to the place of mishaps," he added.

Sethi further urged people to immediately report to the nearest fire station in case of any fire mishap. He also advised people to take adequate precaution and choose open space while bursting crackers.

The fire officer asked traders to sell crackers with valid licence and in accordance with the explosive rules. He asked them to keep sand, water and fire extinguisher ready near cracker shops. He also asked the vendors not to engage minor children in the firecracker works.

Meanwhile, the Commissionerate Police has issued safety guidelines for residents of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack with regard to bursting crackers as per the directives of the Supreme Court.