Bengal Fire Brigade to procure more breathing apparatus

Kolkata, Jan 25 (PTI) Faced with incidents of gas leakone after another in West Bengal, the state''s Fire ServicesMinister Pratim Chatterjee today said his department wouldprocure 100 more breathing apparatus, in addition to theexisting 88 such equipment, to fight such incidents.

The minister also directed all firemen to keep suchequipment always with them whenever they would be out tofight such incidents.

Since the firemen did not have any breathing apparatusinitially with them at Nagerbazar on Sunday where ammonia gasleaked from a cold storage, they failed to contain thesituation and had to wait till the BSF arrived with suchapparatus and they received their own equipments.

The minister also said that out of two ammonia gascylinders at the cold storage at Nagerbazar in the northeastern fringes of the city, one cylinder was sunk in a pond,while the state Pollution Control Board has been asked whetherthe other cylinder would only be sealed or it would also bedisposed off similarly.