BENGALURU: If you think garbage only makes your surrounding dirty and stinking, check this out. In the last three years, nearly 50 per cent of fire accidents reported across the state were due to domestic and industrial waste dumping.
Of the 4,828 fire accidents in the last three years, 2,398 cases were related to fire in garbage, according to Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services (KSFES). Though the reasons for the fire may be different, waste helps the fire spread.
Sources in the Fire Services said reasons for fire accidents include gas leakage, electricy short-circuit, and oil-related cause. In the last three years, 632 cases were related to gas leakage, 1,733 to electric short-circuit and 39 to oil.
“This apart, 2,398 cases are related to fire accidents due to garbage dumping. It could be old items in houses, garbage dumped next to compound walls, industrial or agricultural waste. A small fire can lead to big damage,” the source said.
An official said that most case of garbage fires are due to people’s negligence. “They keep some inflammable substance along with old items in their storerooms. This can catch fire. Some miscreants set fire to garbage next to an abandoned house or compound wall of the house. This is common. Also, to get rid of waste, people set fire to it, which is not good for the environment too,” he said.
A fire fighter posted in Bengaluru said that a few months back, there was a big fire at Shivajinagar after waste dumped next to a government school caught fire. “It took one-and-half hours to extinguish it. There was no casualty. It happened next to Shivajinagar BMTC bus station. If the fire was major, it would have caused a disaster. There was thermocol in the heaps of garbage that was set on fire,” he explained. Sometimes, just a cigarette butt thrown in garbage can lead to disaster, he said.
Director General of Police (Home Guards, Fire and Emergency) M N Reddi told Express many fire accidents are related to garbage. “But we the intensity of these accidents are not the same.”
Asked how well the force is equipped to handle such situations, Reddi said they keep increasing the number of men, equipment and fire stations.
“In the next five years, we want to have more stations and equipment that enable our men to reach the spot sooner and quicker. Safety is our concern,” he said.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/Watch-Out-for-That-Waste/2016/01/11/article3222156.ece
Of the 4,828 fire accidents in the last three years, 2,398 cases were related to fire in garbage, according to Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services (KSFES). Though the reasons for the fire may be different, waste helps the fire spread.
Sources in the Fire Services said reasons for fire accidents include gas leakage, electricy short-circuit, and oil-related cause. In the last three years, 632 cases were related to gas leakage, 1,733 to electric short-circuit and 39 to oil.
“This apart, 2,398 cases are related to fire accidents due to garbage dumping. It could be old items in houses, garbage dumped next to compound walls, industrial or agricultural waste. A small fire can lead to big damage,” the source said.
An official said that most case of garbage fires are due to people’s negligence. “They keep some inflammable substance along with old items in their storerooms. This can catch fire. Some miscreants set fire to garbage next to an abandoned house or compound wall of the house. This is common. Also, to get rid of waste, people set fire to it, which is not good for the environment too,” he said.
A fire fighter posted in Bengaluru said that a few months back, there was a big fire at Shivajinagar after waste dumped next to a government school caught fire. “It took one-and-half hours to extinguish it. There was no casualty. It happened next to Shivajinagar BMTC bus station. If the fire was major, it would have caused a disaster. There was thermocol in the heaps of garbage that was set on fire,” he explained. Sometimes, just a cigarette butt thrown in garbage can lead to disaster, he said.
Director General of Police (Home Guards, Fire and Emergency) M N Reddi told Express many fire accidents are related to garbage. “But we the intensity of these accidents are not the same.”
Asked how well the force is equipped to handle such situations, Reddi said they keep increasing the number of men, equipment and fire stations.
“In the next five years, we want to have more stations and equipment that enable our men to reach the spot sooner and quicker. Safety is our concern,” he said.
