Karachi: Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said that the provincial government is taking emergency corrective measures to repair the faulty fire engines and overcome the shortage of staff being faced by the Karachi’s fire brigade.“I recently visited the Central Fire Station near Civil Hospital and came to know about the worrisome situation that only 14 fire tenders out of total 44 are operational in Karachi while the city’s fire brigade is also facing shortage of staff,” said the Local Government minister while addressing the 10th Fire Safety & Security Convention-2020 as its chief guest. The National Forum for Environment & Health (NFEH) organized the convention in collaboration with the Fire Protection Association of Pakistan (FPAP).
He said the Sindh chief minister was also aware about the situation as he (the CM) had ordered measures to immediately repair the faulty fire engines, snorkels, and also to overcome shortage of staff for the city’s fire brigade.
He said that the Sindh government was also in the process of procuring more fire tenders and snorkel for the city.
He said that fire engines were also being brought for other cities of the province.
He said that the Sindh government was fully aware of its responsibilities that it had to ensure fire safety and protection in all cities of the province.
The Local Government minister said the Karachi’s fire brigade would also get new fire tenders from the federal government.
He said the provincial government would take care that the proper resources remained available to operate and maintain the fire engines for the Karachi’s fire fighting system.
He said the Sindh government would also, establish fire stations in the industrial estates of the city.
He paid tribute to the martyred firemen of the city’s fire brigade who had laid down their lives while participating in emergency fire fighting operations in Karachi.
The Local Government minister acknowledged that the city’s fire-fighters in total disregard for their own safety perform their emergency duties despite having insufficient resources and equipment.
He assured to the FPAP that the provincial government would ensure implementation of the fire safety provision in the building code.
Also speaking on the occasion, President of Korangi Association of Trade & Industry Saleem uz Zaman said the KATI would meet the operational and maintenance expenses of the two fire tenders it would soon get from the federal government to deal with any fire emergency in the Korangi industrial area.
He said the KATI much like other associations of the industrial estates in the city gave much emphasis on fire safety and protection of the industrial units as for the purpose it conducted training and awareness programmes.
Tariq Moen, General Secretary of FPAP, said the concerned civic agencies including the Sindh Building Control Authority and cantonment boards should ensure due implementation of the Fire Safety Provision-2016 as part of the building code for the safety of the commercial and high-rise buildings.
Imran Taj, FPAP, said the programmes like the Fire Safety & Security Convention went a long way in encouraging the commercial establishments, industrial units, and real estate companies to adopt proper fire safety arrangements for the protection of their precious human resource and infrastructure.
He said the FPAP would continue to collaborate with the concerned governmental and non-governmental organisations to conduct training and awareness sessions to help promote the culture of fire safety in the country.
Nadeem Ashraf, NFEH Vice-President, said the Fire Safety & Security Convention for the past consecutive 10 years had been serving as a common platform for all the concerned stakeholders to get together and properly review the situation of fire safety in the country.
Advocate Nadeem Shaikh, CEO EHS Saquib Ejaz Hussain, Country Head Orient Energy Systems Wasif Laeeq, HSE Head HUBCO Salman Rasheed, Chief Fire Officer KPT Saeed Jadoon, Fire Expert Dr. Altaf Afridi, Manager EHS Shifa Int’l Hospital Zulfiqar Ali, Deputy Controller Civil Defence Sindh Shahid Masroor, Former Chief Fire Officer KMC Naeem Yousuf, Head of HSE HBL Syed Azim Uddin, Heena Jamshed, Joint Secretary NFEH Khalid Iqbal and others also spoke on the occasion.