CHENNAI: The State government constituted a Fire Commission, effective from September 1, to modernise the Fire and Rescue Services and improve disaster response, and appointed Shankar Jiwal, who retired as the head of Tamil Nadu, as its chief.
As per the government order dated August 28, the Additional Director of Fire and Rescue Services and CMDA Member-Secretary will be ex-officio convenor and member, respectively.
Other members include KP Sathyamurthy, former engineer-in-chief and chief engineer of PWD, and M Namasivayam, retired district officer of Fire and Rescue Services, as full-time members.
Dr AM Ikram, Fire Marshal Secretary of the Indian Medical Association at CMC, Vellore, has been named a part-time member. Initially, the commission's office will function from the Fire and Rescue Services headquarters or at a separate location provided by CMDA.
The commission has been tasked with introducing technological innovations in fire and life rescue operations while also regulating the issuance of fire licences and safety certificates for buildings. It will design new programmes and training methods for personnel, with a focus on building capacity in disaster response.