February 24, 2007	Saturday	Safar 6, 1428

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RAWALPINDI, Feb 23: Thursday’s huge fire in Moti Bazaar not only devastated scores of traders but also exposed the inadequacy of the city’s fire fighting system.

Witnesses said the victims watched their businesses go up in flames as the efforts of the ill-equipped Rawalpindi fire brigade to douse the raging fire proved ineffective.

Had help not come from the fire stations of Islamabad and Wah Cantonment, they said, the fire would have spread and caused much more damage than the 45 shops burnt in the Moti Bazaar.

Dawn has learnt that six out of the seven town administrations in the Rawalpindi district have no fire fighting vehicles and staff. They all rely on the fire fighting office of tehsil municipal administration (TMA) Rawal Town.

Dr Akram Sarosh, President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), criticised the performance of fire brigade and demanded that district government improve the service.

Even the lone, puny little fire brigade of Rawal Town has just seven fire engines, of 1958 and 1973 vintage, and 55 firemen - almost half of the required strength in men and machines.

Its area of operations however spreads far and wide. This small fire fighting force has to respond to, in addition to Rawalpindi, fire incidents in Taxila, Gujar Khan, Kotli Sattian, Kallar Sayedan, Kahuta and Potohar towns also.

Fire experts shudder at the thought of a big blaze engulfing Rawalpindi city which has over 180 gas stations, industrial units and scores of congested shopping centres but has no modern fire fighting machinery.

Ironically, the Rs70.5 million funds approved for improving the fire fighting capacity of the fire brigade are yet to be utilised by the City District Government Rawalpindi. This reflects the indifferent attitude of the authorities to the fire services.

Even the Civil Defence, a department supposed to cope with emergencies, has no fire extinguishing vehicle and is dependent on such machinery of the Rawal Town.

Sources in the fire brigade confided to this reporter that they had no equipment to deal with any CNG blast. Majority of the CNG stations in thickly populated residential and commercial areas are operating without taking the mandatory permission from the fire brigade department.

Rawalpindi district fire fighting officer Chaudhry Aziz Ahmad acknowledged that his administration lacks operational and manpower facilities to meet emergencies.

Posts of 10 fireman had been lying vacant in his office as the provincial government had banned appointment on the posts, he said.

“Each town of the district should possess at least two fire vehicles and fire stations to act promptly to a crisis instead of waiting for Rawal Town fire service to arrive,” he said.