Odisha fire stations eye ISO certification for quality management

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha fire services directorate has started a process of getting International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) certification for fire stations in the state. At present, no fire station in the country has received ISO certification, the directorate said.
Director general of Odisha fire services wing Satyajit Mohanty said they have consulted the Quality Council of India (QCI), an autonomous body under the ministry of commerce and industry, for technical knowhow.ISO provides standards in terms of quality management, safety and efficiency of private and government organisations.
“Initially we plan to get the prestigious certification for five or ten fire stations in the urban areas. ISO tag will improve the standard of operation and service of the fire stations,” Mohanty said.
Additional director general of police (fire services) Soumya Mishra said the QCI will assess and evaluate the current standards of the fire stations and suggest measures for improvement.
“We already had a meeting with the QCI authorities through video conference. They have given a tentative expenditure of Rs 50,000 for getting the ISO certification for each fire station. The type of the ISO certification will be decided on the basis of their assessment,” Mishra said.
The directorate said the ISO certification will add value to the performance of fire stations. It must be noted the Odisha fire services personnel have turned role models for other states with regard to their search and rescue operations.
Calamity-prone Odisha that excelled in disaster management in the aftermath of 1999 super cyclone had sent some fire personnel to carry out rescue operations in Andhra Pradesh in the wake of cyclone Hudhud in October 2014.
In August 2018, a contingent of 245 fire services personnel from the state were sent to flood-ravaged Kerala to carry out rescue operations.
In December 2018, fire services personnel had gone to Meghalaya to assist other agencies in the rescue operation of some labourers trapped inside a narrow coal mine.
Unfazed by the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of fire services personnel toured West Bengal to assist the local police in carrying out restoration work following the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan in May last year.