Need to improve response to fire incidents: P K Mishra

The capability of agencies to respond to incidents of fire needs to improve and all stakeholders in this domain must collaborate, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister P K Mishra said here on Friday.

Mishra was speaking during the valedictory event of the 15th formation day of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The theme of the event this time was fire safety.

"Fire preparedness requires all relevant stakeholders - from national level to local and community level- to come together," Mishra said.

Local administrations should collaborate with fire services and come up with solutions best-suited to their local contexts to reduce the response time and increase the efficiency of response, he said while speaking to anti-disaster experts and agencies that work to counter them.

He said all critical infrastructure, shopping complexes, commercial establishments and government buildings should be regularly audited for fire safety and necessary preventive measures should be put in place on priority.

During the event, a number of national guidelines and reports prepared by NDMA for disaster risk reduction in the country were also released, which included the national guidelines on disability inclusive disaster risk reduction.

India became the first country in the world to come out with these guidelines, an official statement said.

The NDMA also released a series of videos on how to survive a disaster with Indian sign language incorporated, it added.