Pilibhit to get 6 fire stations to boost firefighting infra

Pilibhit: Pilibhit district is set to establish six new fire stations, after years of grappling with limited firefighting resources. The state govt approved these stations, which will be strategically located across tehsil and block headquarters. Each fire station is expected to cost around Rs 10 crore, including infrastructure like a 70 to 75 metre deep borewell.
Currently, Pilibhit has only two functional fire stations, one at the district headquarters and the other at Bisalpur tehsil. The fire station at the district headquarters is equipped with three fire tenders with capacities of 5,000, 2,500, and 700 litres. One of these, the 2,500-litre tender, has been allocated to serve the Puranpur tehsil area. Each tender is capable of dispensing 450 litres of water per minute.
Meanwhile, the Bisalpur station operates with a single 2,500-litre fire tender and a motorcycle equipped with a fire extinguisher. Due to this limited infrastructure, the district often relies on firefighting support from neighbouring districts. This dependency was evident in recent emergencies.
During a major fire in the Mahof forest range of the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, two fire tenders had to be summoned from Bareilly to prevent the flames from spreading across the grasslands. Similarly, a blaze that broke out on April 2 at a Relaxo footwear showroom in Pilibhit city required additional backup from Bareilly. The risk of fire escalates during the wheat harvesting season, as the dry and brittle crops, along with surrounding vegetation, are highly flammable under intense summer heat.
Pilibhit district comprises five tehsils and seven blocks. Among them, Bisalpur, Pilibhit, Amaria, and Puranpur host both tehsil and block offices. According to chief fire officer Anurag Singh, the new fire station with two tenders of 2,500-litre to 5,000-litre capacity was approved for Puranpur, Amaria and Kalinagar tehsil headquarters, while the remaining three would be set up at Bilsanda, Lalaurikhera, and Barkhera block headquarters.
Land parcels of 4,150 square metres have already been identified for most locations, except Barkhera and Kalinagar, where site allocation is still pending. "The process of finalising working agencies for layout preparation, DG Fire Services approval, and construction is still underway at five sites," Singh said. He added that for Amaria tehsil, the task of constructing the fire station has been assigned to the UP Awas Vikas Council, which has submitted its layout design to the DG for approval.