Fire services get ready to tame summer blazes in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Summer months, from March to May, are considered the peak season for industrial and forest fires in the state of Telangana. Keeping view of this, officials of the Telangana state disaster response and fire services department are relying on modern technology coupled with manpower to beat back the threat of fire accidents all across the state.
Speaking at a workshop in the city on extreme weather events with reference to heat waves in Telangana, disaster response and fire services officials informed that they are well prepared, and the staffers have been put on high alert to handle any kind of untoward fire situation in the state.
According to officials, while there are about 10 to 20 fire incidents in the state every day during the monsoons, the number goes up to 50 to 100 during the peak summer months.
M Gopi Krishna, director general of state disaster response and fire services stated that in the 33 districts of Telangana, they have about 118 fire stations that are well equipped in terms of vehicles, equipment and material like foam and water.
“We are extremely cautious during summer months starting from March. Most fires happen at industries and warehouses where material like cotton is stored in a haphazard manner. Sometimes it takes hours to put off the fire. Similarly, if fields of dry grass catch fire, it becomes extremely difficult to control it because it spreads very fast. So, we need to be very cautious,” the director general added.
“If there is any disaster happening in terms of fire, we have our teams ready and are ready to respond immediately,” he assured.