The newly-launched helpline of the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) will now help the city residents get information about anything related to fire services.
As part of preparing a force of trained fire volunteers, the MFB has also decided to provide training to 1,200 people every month.
The fire services day was observed at the MFB headquarters at Byculla on Thursday. The helpline number (1800-123-3473) was launched by BMC chief Ajoy Mehta on this occasion.
“Mumbaikars can call on this helpline to avail any information about fire services,” he said.
As part of the fire safety week, which will be observed from April 14-20, the MFB has also undertaken several initiatives. The most significant among them is to prepare a force of trained fire volunteers, who can assist firemen during fire fighting operations in the city. They will be trained to improve public response during fire calamities. The training will be given every Sunday.
Interested candidates can register their names for the training on the new helpline number. Every month about 1,200 fire volunteers will be prepared. The training will start from May 8, said a senior fire official.
According to fire officials, lack of public response is the first major problem they face while dealing with fire incidents. This causes lot of difficulties since the initial period is very important in saving lives in fire incidents. If the fire volunteers are available within people, they would play a major role in controlling fires as well as preventing casualties. The MFB has aims to create a force of 70,000 fire volunteers across the city.
Mr Mehta also felicitated a MFB firemen.
The fire brigade presently has 33 fire stations in the city with a total staff of 3,000 men.
