Hi-tech fire tender at airport soon

PATNA: City’s Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport will soon be equipped with rapid intervention vehicle (RIV) and six-stretcher ambulance for emergency situations.

Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) general manager (rescue and fire service) Subash Kumar said on Monday the AAI would provide one RIV with content up to the capacity of 1,600 litres at Patna airport by December this year. RIV is a compact airport firefighting vehicle, particularly suitable for rapid and safe operation at small airports and heliports.

“A six-stretcher ambulance will also be bought for emergencies. It will work 24X7 at Patna airport from September. Patna airport is among the busiest airports in India and such safety equipment is badly needed. We are also planning for smart fire station at the airport,” he said.

Subash was here for a five-day training programme — ‘Basic CBRN Emergency Management Training’ — that aims at enhancing the preparedness of Airport Emergency Handlers (AEHs) to respond to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear material emergencies at the airports. The programme is being conducted by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with the AAI, National Disaster Response Force and the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS).

The programme was inaugurated on Monday by principal secretary (home) Amir Subhani.

Speaking on the occasion, Subash said it is for the first time that such a programme has been organized at Patna airport. “We are conducting the programme at 12 airports in India. The training programme covers operational and technical aspects of CBRN response. The instructors will teach exactly how and what need to be done during emergencies,” he said.

Patna airport director Rajender Singh Lahauria said, “The training programme will give exposure on preparedness and handling of emergencies arising out of threats caused by chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials. It will also improve the CBRN safety at our airports by enabling the AEHs to handle any CBRN emergency.”

INMAS official Dr Saurabh Dalal and NDMA member Dr Mitra Basu Chillar trained around 50 officials of Patna airport in the first session. It was attended by participants from Airport Fire Services, CISF, airlines, customs, DGCA, Bihar police, Bihar State Disaster Management Authority besides doctors from IGIMS and Paras HMRI Hospital.

Earlier, the training was conducted at the Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi and Kolkata airports.

Courtesy: TNN