Kolkata: The state Fire and Emergency Services department has introduced two sophisticated mobile control rooms that will operate directly from the site of major fires and thus will contribute in arresting the flames more effectively. "The mobile control room infrastructure has been set up in two buses. The two vehicles have been designed keeping in mind the nuances of tackling severe fire and emergency situations. The vehicles will be stationed at a strategic point near the site of a severe fire and the control room will chip in with necessary infrastructure for extinguishing the flames in the best possible manner," said Sujit Bose, state Fire and Emergency Services minister. A senior official of the department said that in case of some big fire incidents in the recent past, it has been witnessed that it becomes extremely difficult to mobilise forces due to unavailability of electricity and other resources. The mobile control room is equipped with features like power back-up in the form of a portable generator to provide uninterrupted power in locations where the power lines have been disconnected. "There is a conference room set up for holding important meetings with our officers in order to take stock of the situation and plan out strategy, which otherwise is very difficult due to the huge crowd that gathers at the scene. Smart TV with Google maps helps us to view live traffic, locate waterbodies and monitor the situation. There are wireless local loop phones and static wireless communication sets which are connected with the police," the official said. The two mobile units have bio-toilets for firefighters engaged in these emergency situations and also resting rooms for fatigued firefighters. It further has facilities of lighting with remote controlled LED light mast with 20,000 lumens output and also camera with recording of the scene during such situation. The department has spent over Rs 1 crore for the procurement of these two mobile control room facilities. "We have been constantly upgrading our infrastructure for effective management of fire and this is surely a major step towards that direction," Bose said.

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