Fires rage on while mini fire station lies defunct

Fire at Avighna Park, Currey Road. Pic/Ashish Raje

Fire related tragedies are in the news. The devastating fire at Curry Road, Parel on Friday has brought even more resonance to a recent report in this paper about a mini fire station at Santacruz, completed early this year, but not yet operational.

The report said that the area which was once covered with debris has been transformed with a neat fire station. A mini fire engine can be placed here, there is a toilet and a cabin which can house up to five firefighters. The plot apparently was a dumping ground and mounds of debris had to be removed to make a fire station in this place.

Now, there is a stumbling block, mainly that of manpower crunch to get this station working. It is important that there be will and an unwavering focus to get this mini-station operational.

A senior officer has stated that they are in the process of setting up mini stations across the city.

A recent news report also cited how the fire authorities were in the process of procuring fire fighting bikes, that will help firefighters weave their way through narrow roads with obstruction and double parking, to reach the sites faster and much more easily.

It is unfortunate then that while the city wants to upgrade and tweak its firefighting arsenal to meet the needs brought in by transformation, a ready mini-station lies defunct.

It has to be put to use, as we also know the state of buildings and plots which are not in use - how they can be encroached or put to wrong use by anti-social elements. Many times, they are transformed to garbage dumps.

This may not necessarily happen with the mini-station, but it is always wise to look at the pattern in the metropolis and be alert to such a possibility.