CHITRAL: MPA Maulana Hidayatur Rahman has demanded the government take notice of the repeated failure of Rescue 1122 in extinguishing fires in Chitral as its firefighting staff is not properly trained.
He said the staffers of Rescue 1122 even did not know how to open the nozzle and connect the hose with the water tanker.
He said he personally observed the inability of the staff last night when a fire broke out in Chew Bazaar and gutted five shops.
The MPA said the workers of Rescue 1122 arrived at Chew Bazaar half an hour late although the distance was hardly one kilometre.
He said about 20 minutes were wasted by the firefighters to connect hose pipes to the water tanker and start extinguishing the fire. Mr Rahman said the local volunteers struggled hard to control the fire and save a nearby petrol pump.
Speaking on the occasion, traders union president Shabbir Ahmed Khan said the previous government recruited non-locals in Rescue 1122 and they did not know the locality of the affected place.
He said it was not the first incident of the failure of Rescue 1122 to extinguish a fire timely. He demanded the chief minister compensate the affected shopkeepers.