Fire Safety Part III: Inadequate firefighting infrastructure in Amritsar district’s rural regions is a reason for concern

There is an increase in farm fire incidences in rural regions during the busiest harvest season. Wheat and paddy crops are particularly prone to fire. The overcrowding at Amritsar’s fire stations was caused by the underdeveloped infrastructure in the surrounding cities. The district’s outlying towns and subdivisions have long been without access to firefighting resources.

Ten outlying towns are located in the district close to the city: Beas, Rayya, Baba Bakala, Jandiala, Kathunangal, Majitha, Rajasansi, Lopoke Chugawan, Ajnala, and Attari. With the exception of Jandiala and Majitha, none of these towns have a fire station. In the previous year, the two towns each received two fire tenders from the government.

Rural regions are the primary source of fire incident calls for the Amritsar Municipal Corporation’s Fire Department during the paddy and wheat harvesting seasons. Firefighters usually have a difficult time getting to the scene and putting out fires in rural regions because fire spreads quickly over fields. Approximately 700 fire calls are handled annually by the city’s divisional headquarters of the Fire Department.

Officials from the department report an increase in the amount of fire calls coming from the rural and outlying communities. Firefighters are required to respond to fire calls up to 70 kilometers outside of the city due to the four operational fire stations in the area. Not even in Tarn Taran district is there a firefighting facility. The Amritsar crew responds to fire calls from Taran Tarn, Khadoor Sahib, Khemkaran, Jhabbal, and Mehta in addition to the district. To combat fires, the Amritsar teams go to Khemkaran, which is 65 km away, and Sri Hargobindpur, which is 70 km away.

“Fire tenders are required in every town within the area. While responding to calls from city dwellers, we experience inconvenience when our fire tenders and trucks are out of commission, a fire officer said.

To contain the fire, groups from gurdwaras and panchayats in rural areas have formed “jugaads” for combating fires. They install a water tanker on an engine to force water out of it in order to put out fires. Fire authorities countered that although these “jugaads” are a useful temporary solution, they cannot replace fire tenders. They said that training should be provided to firefighters so they can work without suffering injuries.