Kozhikode: Community volunteer team' for fire-fighting

KOZHIKODE: The district fire and safety officials on Friday launched  the first  batch of ‘community volunteer team’ to  help the department in fighting  fire mishaps.   The decision to train the people in fire-fighting was taken in the wake of  increasing number of fire accidents in the district and the shortage of  trained hands to tackle the issue. To begin with, 150 people were selected from Palayam market, SM Street and Velliyangadi, who were  trained on Friday at the sports council hall. The programme was launched by  Mayor Thottathil Raveendran  and  Collector U.V. Jose. The  team was trained to carry out rescue operations in case of fire in their vicinity.

“They can take  preliminary steps to tackle fire mishaps by the time our officials reach the spot”, said district fire officer Arun Baskher.   The  firemen will coach them in handling fire-fighting equipment, their installations and evacuation  during an emergency. “We will instruct the people to  remain calm under such situations and understand the safety measures.  The initiative  will be spread to other parts of the region,” he  said.