Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday virtually inaugurated the permanent building for the fire station in Ranipet town since its formation way back in 1947.
Officials of the Fire and Rescue Services said that along with the 12 other fire stations, including one at Arakkonam and Tiruvannamalai in the State, Ranipet was the earliest fire station that was set up on October 5, 1947. Since then, the station has been functioning in a dilapidated structure on a five-acre plot in the industrial town.
“It was long overdue. The new building has modern facilities and space to accommodate three vehicles including a fire tender,” S. Lakshiminarayana, District Fire Officer (DFO), Ranipet, told The Hindu.
Divided into officers’ quarters and a fire station, the new building was built at a cost of ₹1.45 crore on a 2.5 acre plot with a large training ground for its 18 staff by the Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation Limited (TNPHCL). It comprises six rooms for leading firemen and firefighters. Two large overhead tanks (OHT) on its terrace, each have a capacity of 50,000 litres of water. The new facility also has a 40-feet-deep farm well to pump water to these tanks.
The officials said the proposal to construct a permanent building was sent more than two decades ago to the State government as most of the pillars of the dilapidated structure were crumbling. However, the administrative order (A.O) for the new building was given only in 2011. A decade later, tenders were floated for the work in 2022. Work was started in the following year (2023).
At present, except Kalavai town, other fire stations in Arakkonam, Sholinghur, Ranipet, SIPCOT, and Arcot have their own buildings. The Ranipet fire office covers at least 110 villages in Walajah and Kaveripakkam panchayat unions.
On the occasion, Minister for Handlooms and Textiles R. Gandhi and Ranipet Collector S. Valarmathi were present.
