Fire dept to explore drone tech, to recruit women officers

Hyderabad: Telangana Fire Disaster Response and Emergency Services Director General Y. Nagi Reddy on Tuesday announced that the department is exploring the use of drone technology for fire surveillance and plans to induct women into the fire force, following the lead of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

He also revealed that three fire-fighting robots have already been deployed in Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medchal districts, with plans to expand this technology further.

Fire safety in pharma sector

Reddy was speaking at the inaugural session of a conference titled ‘Pillars of Protection – Forging a Safer Future for Pharma and Chemical Manufacturing’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Telangana.

Addressing the gathering, he stressed the importance of mandatory annual fire safety audits, especially for pharma and life sciences industries. “Industries must take proactive responsibility by conducting audits and submitting reports online. We will follow a trust-but-verify approach,” he said.

Fire incidents in pharma units a concern

Highlighting the risks, Reddy shared that Telangana has recorded 102 major fire incidents in pharma units over the last decade, resulting in losses of over Rs.100 crore. One of the worst incidents caused property damage worth Rs.30 crore and claimed six lives.

In 2023 alone, the department saved assets worth Rs.4,035 crore from fire accidents, although Rs.1,223 crore in property was still lost.

Expansion and modernisation

The state currently operates 147 fire stations, including 38 in Hyderabad, the Director General said, adding that modernization and expansion remain top priorities.

The CII conference brought together key stakeholders from the pharma and chemical industries. Discussions focused on best practices in Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), regulatory compliance, risk management, and case studies on safe manufacturing practices.

Participants included EHS and compliance officers, plant heads, QA/QC professionals, R&D experts, regulators, and policymakers.

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