19 Fire fighting units set up en-route Vaishnodevi shrine

Fire fighting units have been set up at 19 major locations along the trek to the 5200 feet high Mata Vaishnodevi shrine in the Trikuta hills of Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, an official said.
"On the directions of Governor N N Vohra, Chairman of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, in-house fire fighting units have been established at major Yatra locations - Adhkuwari, Himkoti and Bhawan," a senior officer of the Board said.
The fire fighting units include fully fabricated mini- fire tenders with water storage capacity of 400 litres and a throw distance of 20 feet, he added.

"These units are fully equipped with all modern gadgets, including fire suits, goggles, breathers, first-aid kit etc. Each Fire Tender is supported with a mini-water tanker for replenishment during fire fighting operations," he added.
The officer said the decision to set up in-house fire fighting units was taken up considering the forest fire prone nature of the tracks to the shrine, particularly during peak summer months, and also to deal with any accidental fire incidents.
By establishing in-house fire fighting units, the board has improved its in-house capacity to deal with any fire incident and provide for the safety of the pilgrims against fire incidents, besides, saving the infrastructure from fire related damages, he added.

These units have been integrated with the Disaster Management Task Force of the shrine board for their deployment and operations, he said.
"A set of standard operating procedures (SOP) are in place for the best use of the emergency equipment," the officer said.
He said that to facilitate the use of these in-house fire fighting units, the board has also established dedicated fire hydrants at Adhkuwari and Bhawan.