Fire spreads too fast and if the fire fighters do not reach the scene in time not only the property will be totally burnt, but several lives will also be lost.

While keeping in mind the necessity of quick response while tackling emergencies the fire brigades in Andhra Pradesh will soon be equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) in addition to video cameras.

A senior Fire Department official explained that the initiating action was imposed as the first-of-its-kind in the country. Interestingly, this advancement will not only allow the fire-fighters reach the location of fire accident quickly, on the contrary also provide them with guidance in the fire fighting operation. The officer added that the GPS-based system enabled with video cameras will be launched in about a month's time. In the first phase, GPS system along with cameras will be installed in 150 fire engines across the state.

As a prominent fact, at the moment there are 252 fire stations with over 300 fire vehicles in Andhra Pradesh.

Furthering with the initiative, the officer added that a Centralised Control Room will be set up in Hyderabad which will be connected with the GPS system, he said, adding that it would help in monitoring the movement of fire vehicles and determine where the fire incident has occurred and accordingly the fire fighters would be guided along the route and to reach the scene through shortest distance. The fire fighters have already been provided with SIM-based tablets, which will be installed with GPS technology along with related software.

The Fire Department official explained that in the event of emergency, the fire fighters will send across feed from the tablets and the GPS units, in turn will help them access locations at the same time reach the emergency scenes quickly while the officials at the control room can simultaneously keep track of the vehicles. Subsequently with the help of cameras, the officials/experts at the Centralised Control room can watch the fire personnel in the fire fighting operation at the same time guide them on the methodology to tackle different kinds of fire in an effective manner. During training, the footage can also help new recruits handle different kinds of fire.

The officer stressed on an incident that occurred last year during Manikonda fire incident in Hyderabad during which 30 precious minutes were wasted as the fire personnel were unsuccessful in locating the exact location of the fire accident which resulted in killing at least seven persons after a five-storey residential apartment caught fire near Manikonda at Puppalguda under Rajendranagar mandal.

There can be no doubt when it comes to fire accident that one must be absolutely prepared to defend it before it reaches it's critical height making it unmanageable for the fire fighters as well the general public.

Content Source:Siasat
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(AW:Samrat Biswas)