Collector orders installation of fire hydrants in all key locations in Ernakulam

District Collector G. Priyanka has instructed officials of the Kerala Water Authority to accelerate steps to install fire hydrants in all strategic locations.

As a first step, officials were told to initiate the process to install the system at Broadway in the city and Aluva, the places where fire broke out on Tuesday, causing massive financial losses and posing a threat to public safety.

Fire hydrant, a fitting in a public place with a nozzle by which a fire hose may be attached to a water main, is considered a key firefighting facility.

The Collector gave the instructions at a meeting she convened along with district panchayat president K.G. Radhakrishnan on Wednesday to discuss the immediate steps to be taken to prevent fire incidents in the district in the near future.

At the meeting, the district administration decided to form a monitoring committee as part of measures to prevent possible fire breakouts.

The committee, headed by the Sub Collector, will have the Kochi Corporation secretary, a hazard analyst, and officials of the Fire and Rescue Services, Kerala State Electricity Board, and other related departments as members. The committee has to visit markets and other fire-prone areas in the city and take necessary prevention steps, an official release said.

All local bodies in the district have been instructed to constitute monitoring committees and conduct a fire audit concentrating on schools, hospitals, markets, and scrap centres before January 15. Local bodies also have to make a list of available vehicles including excavators to meet emergency situations.

Sub Collector Grandhe Sai Krishna, Deputy Collector (Disaster Management) K. Manoj, and officials of various departments attended the meet.