A service like this can greatly help decrease the burden of morbidity and mortality related to fire accidents.
KARACHI: This is with reference to the news item “International Fire Fighters Day: Motorcycle response force answers promptly in Karachi’s narrow streets” (May 4) published on the occasion of the International Firefighters’ Day. The launch of a motorcycle firefighting service is a great effort by Saylani Welfare Trust to combat fires across Karachi. They aim to respond to small fire outbreaks in katchi abadis (slums) and narrow lanes where fire brigade vehicles often face delays due to difficulty in accessing the site. The motorcycles are equipped with firefighting equipment. They carry up to 45 litres of water with a 30-feet pipe, six kilogrammes of carbon dioxide and dry chemical and an oxygen cylinder. These two wheelers are also equipped with gas-cutting tools that can greatly help in cutting through mortar and metal. Each motorcycle is also equipped with a radio device so that the fleet can stay in touch with the control centre.
In addition to combating small fires, they can also assist in large fires before the fire brigade reaches a site in question and can also prevent a small short circuit from transforming into a deadly fire.
The service claims its response time is 10 minutes and currently employs 15 trained firefighters. Remember to dial 1022 for accessing their services.
A service like this can greatly help decrease the burden of morbidity and mortality related to fire accidents.
However, prevention is the key to saving lives. For disaster management, anticipation, preparedness and planning are the key principles.
For fire safety, smoke alarms, water sprinklers, regular evacuation drills, safety emergency exits and an emergency staircase and fire extinguishers should be mandatory in every office, factory, educational institutions, apartment buildings and houses. Rarely, any apartment building today has an emergency staircase exit in Pakistan.
Employers should pay special attention to planning for such emergencies.
Dr Jahanzeb Effendi,
Co-Founder of First Response Initiative of Pakistan,
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2014.
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