KOCHI: In the wake of frequent fire outbreaks in the district, the fire and rescue department has prepared a special action plan for the industrial belt in Eloor and Aluva, one of the largest business areas in the state. The action plan gives thrust on facilitating the industrial units to fight the fire mishaps on their own before the fire and rescue services personnel arrive at the spot.
The department suggests construction of a huge water storage tank on the banks of Periyar near Eloor and Aluva. A pipeline connecting all the industrial units and the water storage tank should be installed considering the specific needs of various units. “We have submitted our proposal to the district administration and the officials with the district industrial centre in April. It was following a major fire mishap in the Eloor industrial area that we designed the plan. It is up to the government to implement the proposal,” a top official with the fire and rescue department said.
Earlier, the fire and rescue services department had suggested that all the industrial units in the Eloor and Aluva areas set up individual fire fighting facilities for them. “But, most of the units started decades ago do not have provisions for fire fighting. Given the space constraints and other limitations, it will be difficult for the industrial units to set up their own fire fighting facilities. That is why we prepared a plan for installing a common network spread across the industrial belts,” an official with the fire and rescue department said.
“A big overhead water storage tank near each industrial area will be very helpful for fighting fire. The water from the storage tank should be taken to each unit through a pipeline network. There should be hydrant points near each unit. According to the features of hazardous substances used in a particular unit, additional facilities should be arranged in that unit. If it is a hazardous chemical, for example, the water should be mixed with foam so as to extinguish fire. So, the particular unit should prepare facilities to mix foam with the water supplied through the common pipeline network,” the official said.
Out of the 36 major accident hazardous units (MAH) in the state, 22 units are in Kochi and its suburbs. There are 1,600 large and close to 3,000 small industrial units in the district. Though majority of these factories are in and around Kochi, they had not furnished any details regarding the hazardous things they handle and mitigating measures to be adapted to the fire and rescue department. This caused hardships in carrying out rescue operations during emergencies. So, the fire and rescue services department collected the details.
“We have prepared the action plan considering special features of industrial units in each area. Once the system becomes operational, the employees with the unit where fire occurs can start fire fighting on their own. This will help reduce the response time which is crucial in putting out the fire before causing more damage and casualties,” the official said.
