By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 13 Dec: A daylong Certificate-training Programme conducted by UPES on ‘Fire Safety in Aviation Sector’ concluded successfully at its Bidholi campus. The event, organised by the UPES ‘Department of Health, Safety & Environment and Civil Engineering’ was held with the support of the ‘Fire & Security Association of India (FSAI) Delhi State Chapter’. Over 300 Students from UPES BTech ‘Fire & Safety Engineering’ and MTech ‘Health Safety & Environmental Engineering’ and faculty members participated. The former Director of ‘Delhi Fire Services’, RC Sharma, and former General Manager, ‘Indira Gandhi International Airport’, HS Rawat were the domain experts at the event. Briefing the media, Sr Director, Public Affairs, UPES, Arun Dhand shared that UPES has always advocated safety at the workplace and has been contributing young talent in this sphere. “The UPES FSAI Student Chapter of the Health Safety & Environmental Engineering & Civil Engineering Department launched in January 2018 was yet another step in pursuing this objective. The FSAI aims at working closely with the Government and all other stakeholders to enable the Indian Fire and Security industry to reach global pre-eminence with better regulatory framework. This certificate training program on Fire Safety in Aviation Sector aims at bringing the fire safety industry experts and academia together for the students to learn from their experience and benefit society,” he declared. Dr Nihal A Siddiqui, Professor & Head, HSE & Civil Engineering Department, revealed that the ‘Fire & Security Association of India’ (FSAI) is a national level non-profit organisation set-up with the goal of promoting safety & security as a single collective amalgam and represents Fire Protection, Life Safety, Security, Building Automation, Loss Prevention and Risk Management domains with over 6,000 members including leading 600+ Global & Indian corporations. The main features of this programme were aimed at acknowledging the hazards and risks in the aviation sector and training the young graduates to take up the challenges effectively post their employment. Delivering their expert lectures, RC Sharma and HS Rawat highlighted the importance of fire accident investigations, fire prevention and protection measures, challenges faced during emergencies and deliberated upon the diverse range of aircraft and their design features. Sharing his 40 plus years of experience in fire safety management in metropolitan and Industrial sectors while serving as ‘Deputy Inspector General, Fire’ with the prestigious Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), wherein he oversaw 82 Government of India industries and establishments and, later, as the Director of Delhi Fire Services with the participants, Sharma apprised the gathering, “The aviation industry is registering a phenomenal growth globally. India was rated as the fastest growing domestic air travel market for the 4th year in a row with 18.6% growth, followed by China with 11.7% and Russia with 9%. The aviation industry has seen dramatic growth over the past 20 years and the Air Travel industry is projected to double in the next 20 years. A fire in an aircraft poses a significant threat to life; owing to the large quantities of highly flammable fuel and limited possibilities for escape, the threat in aviation fire is high in comparison to other situations. The aviation industry offers immense opportunities in the sphere of safety.” HS Rawat corroborated Dr Sharma’s words while adding, “Safety is the highest priority of all involved in aviation. The shared goal is for every flight to take-off and land safely. Each fatality is a tragedy and that rededicates everyone in the aviation industry to our common goal of having every flight take- off and land safely. Our Safety Strategy aims to help the industry become even safer” he said. Dr Nihal expressed gratitude to Devendra Gill, President, FSAI Delhi State Chapter, and Lalit Dutt, Secretary, FSAI Delhi State Chapter, for their support in conducting this programme. The organising team members included Dr Bikarama P Yadav, Dr SM Tauseef, Abhishek Nandan, P Mondal, Akshi Singh, Arun PA and Surendar. The event culminated after the presentation of ‘Participation Certificates’ to all the participants.
