PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Rudrapur
Under the direction of the chief conservator of forests (Forest Fire and Disaster Management), a forest fire mock drill was organised on Wednesday in Dhimari block, North Tanda Range, Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar district. The purpose of the mock drill was to douse forest fire in the minimum possible time.
As part of the simulated exercise, on receiving information from the Forest department control room at 10:46 AM, the district disaster control room immediately informed the district administration after which teams of all the concerned departments were sent to the spot under IRS (Incident Response System).
During the mock drill, a simulated fire was created in an area of approximately one hectare. Joint teams comprising personnel of police, NDRF, SDRF, Forest and Disaster Management departments, in a coordinated effort, established a fire line and brought the fire under control. An “injured” person was immediately provided first aid and the fire was fully controlled by approximately 11:48 AM.
The district-level officials conducted continuous monitoring through the IRS system from the district disaster management video conference hall.
The district disaster management officer, Umashankar Negi said that they conduct mock drills from time to time to establish coordination between the control room, staging area and incident area.
“The purpose of the mock drill is to ensure prompt and coordinated response in the event of a forest fire and to test departmental preparedness,” he added.
