The Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services Department is a department of the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

that is the foremost disaster management body in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, India.

Background

All buildings in the state are required to obtain a compliance certificate for fire safety from the department. The department has the right to recommend the withdrawal of licences to commercial structures that do not have proper fire fighting equipment on their premises. The department has a sanctioned strength of 6,448 personnel. In 2009, the government announced that all

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

s in the state would have fire stations. As of 2011, the department had 168

fire stations __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

across Karnataka, while 31 more were sanctioned in 2012. In 2011,

Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Bangalore. Infosys is the s ...

built a fire station at

Hebbal, Mysore Hebbal is an industrial area and suburb of Mysore city in India. History Traditionally, Mysore has been home to industries such as weaving, sandalwood carving, bronzework, and the production of lime and salt. The planned industrial growth of t ...

at a cost of 45 million for the department. The department also owns rescue vans in Bangalore, Mangalore, Gulbarga, Mysore, Mandya, Chamrjanagar, and Hassan. The department owns a

pumper A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an ...

that was built by

Dennis Brothers Dennis Brothers Limited was an English manufacturer of commercial vehicles based in Guildford. It is best remembered as a manufacturer of buses, fire engines and lorries (trucks) and municipal vehicles such as dustcarts. All vehicles were made ...

and delivered to the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore in 1925 from England. It is the only petrol driven vehicle in the fleet and is brought out only during parades and rallies. The department also owns a Bronto Skylift to reach the higher storeys of tall buildings in Bangalore. The department owns similar equipment in the cities of

Hubli Hubli, officially known as Hubballi, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad distr ...

and

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...

. Due to the lack of working fire hydrants in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

city, the department has acquired two high capacity water tankers to send in case of massive fires. The department was one of the rescue agencies during the 2010 Mangalore air crash.

Criticism

A report released by the

Comptroller and Auditor General of India The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the supreme audit institution of India, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. They are empowered to audit all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the ...

stated that the department was ill-prepared to handle emergency situations due to the lack of standard operating procedures. The department relies on groundwater reservoirs of the

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is the premier governmental agency responsible for sewage disposal and water supply to the Indian city of Bangalore. It was formed in 1964. Water supply BWSSB currently supplies approximately ...

to fill water due to the lack of fire hydrants in Bangalore city. 400 fire hydrants have been reported to have gone missing since the 1980s.

References

External links

Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services
{{Firefighting in India Fire departments of India State agencies of Karnataka 1964 establishments in Mysore State