Firefighter’s day: Public awareness an issue during rescue work

Around 2,000 fire reports registered in provincial capital since inception.

PESHAWAR: International Firefighters Day was observed at Rescue 1122 Headquarters at Sher Shah Suri Road on Monday. Counting their facilities, these emergency workers contended that there was one thing which they still struggle with – public cooperation.

“Two hundred and twenty firefighters work across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi told The Express Tribune.  “Around 70 firefighters are employed in the district of Mardan.” He added Rescue 1122 has a squad of 12 fire brigades.

Since the rescue services were established in the provincial capital, around 2,000 fire reports were registered in the city in addition to 500 from Mardan, added Faizi.

These services, he added, were not just for fires and arson; “fire brigades are on standby for any sort of rescue operations and are housed within Peshawar in at least eight stations.”

Rescue 1122 official Nasir Ali told The Express Tribune he leads a six-member crew in any rescue situation.

“7,000 litres of water is available in fire brigade’s tanker,” shared Ali. However, for short circuits or electrical fire, the crew uses carbon dioxide and dry chemical powder (DCP) to extinguish the blaze.

According to Ali, Rescue 1122 firefighters were trained for six months in Lahore along international standards.

Rescue 1122 officials shared that even though they are dispatched to help the public, a lack of awareness ends up causing people to pose more hurdles. Faizi suggested raising public awareness and requested people to cooperate with their teams during emergencies.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2015.