Fires!

Public memory is proverbially short.Govt's memory is probably even shorter.At least the devastating fire at Surya Sen Street Market so indicates.Even after massive Stephen Court house and AMRI fires which took a heavy toll of human lives the Civil administration remains as indifferent as ever.Immediately after occurrence of a fire,administration swings into action like visiting market places and highrises to examine if fire fighting arrangements are there.Those who are found to flout the fire safety norms,incidentally which are most disobeyed than obeyed in most instances, are warned.Then it's all quiet on fire safety front till massive fire,particularly that kills many lives,breaks out again some where. As Kolkata is an old unplanned and highly congested city.there're places where fire fighting engines can't enter due to narrow passage.Those places should be particulaly marked and checked if fire safety devices are properly maintained there.If fire is extinguished at initial stage by internal devices at the place of occurrence, it won't take dreadful proportions and fire brigade's assistance would not be needed.Beat fire before fire beats you. It's unwise to expect civic administration alone would diminish the incidences of fire.Unless people are conscious and behave responsibly nobody can save them from menace of fire.Thing should be other way round.People should be pro-active to compel the civic administration to visit their places regularly to see to if power safety devices are in operative stage.People should also insist the civic authority on making it convenient for fire engines to reach the spot of fire at the time of need.Availability of water near the place of fire for fire engines to operate should also be ensured. It's normally found in most cases fire originates from short circuits.So stress must be given on the periodical check up of electrical wiring.If it's seriously done, incidences of fire could be averted to a large extent.It's a ground reality that administration and public should work in tandem to prevent fire.