The 34th Annual Inspection Day Parade of the Directorate of Fire & Emergency Services, Goa was held on 26th February 2022 at the Goa State Fire Force Training Ground, St. Inez, Panaji - Goa. The Inspection Day Parade is an annual event to test the overall operational fitness level of the Fire Personnel for prompt response in the event of any emergency. Certificates and Trophies were handed over to the winners of the Drill Competition and the Annual Sports Meet. Shri P. S. Reddy, I.A.S., Commissioner cum Secretary (Ports), Government of Goa was the Chief Guest for the function. Dr. P. K. John (founder Director of DFES) and Shri Ashok Menon Former Director, Directorate of Fire & Emergency Services also graced the occasion. Shri Nitin V. Raiker, Director, Directorate of Fire & Emergency Services inspected the Annual Parade and the best turn out of the Fire Personnel from various Ranks were selected for the Best Turn out Awards. The First Place for Squad Drill, Ladder Drill was awarded to Fire Force Headquarters, Pump Drill to Mapusa Fire Station and Tug of War to Bicholim Fire Station. The Best Turn Out was awarded to Shri. R. V. Pednekar, Station Fire Officer, Shri. Subhash V. Naik & Shri. Dhiraj Desai Sub Officers, Shri. Ravindra Narulkar, Shri. Vishnu B. Gawas & Shri Andrew Sequiera, Leading Fire Fighters, Shri. Ganaraj Gaonkar, Watchroom Operator, Shri. Suchit Sawal & Navnit N. Parab Driver Operators, Shri. Somesh Komarpant, Shri. Mahesh B. Desai, Shri. G. R. Degvekar & Shri. Pandurang Gaonkar, Fire Fighters. The Winners for best Vehicle Maintenance in North Zone was awarded to Mapusa Fire Station, Central Zone: Kundaim Fire Station & South Zone: Verna Fire Station and Winners of 9th Annual Sports Meet for Cricket was awarded to South Zone, Football to North Zone & Volleyball to Central Zone.
Shri. Nitin V. Raiker, Director, Fire & Emergency Services in his Welcome Address stated that the Annual Inspection Parade is an important occasion for the department wherein the administrative superior has an opportunity to critically scrutinize the performance efficiency of the department’s operational units. He further apprised the dignitaries regarding the various activities carried out by the department in the field of Fire Fighting, Fire Prevention, Fire Protection and Training in the State of Goa. He also stated that the Aapada Mitra Scheme of Government of India is a good initiative and the State will soon be training 350 Community Volunteers whose services will be utilised during Disaster Response, Relief and Rehabilitation in the State and the Training for the 1st batch of Aapada Mitra and Apada Sakhi will be commenced from the 1st week of April 2022.
Further he informed that the Directorate of Fire & Emergency Services has used technology to give the Disaster Management Cell, the Press and any interested stakeholders a ring side view of the day to day incident reporting at the various Fire Stations across the State of Goa. A direct beneficiary of this initiative has been the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) which uses this data to assess the damage due to changing weather patterns. This initiative of the Department has been appreciated by the Indian Metrological Department.
Shri. P. S. Reddy, I.A.S, Commissioner cum Secretary (Ports), Government of Goa in his speech praised the performance of the March Past and Ladder Drill conducted. Further he applauded the departments contribution in the sanitization drive carried out across the State of Goa during the Covid-19 Pandemic and during the rescue operations conducted in Cyclone Tauktae and the Floods in the year 2021. He also stated that the Department should enhance its community based training at the Village level.
The Exhibition of Ladder Drill event was carried out by the Fire Force Headquarters Fire Personnel crew, which was excellently executed within a timing of 50.14 seconds. Shri. Ajit Kamat, Asst. Divisional Officer, North Zone welcomed the gathering and proposed the Vote of Thanks
