Bhubaneswar: The Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI) on Saturday announced the formation of its Bhubaneswar sub-chapter to foster a spirit of safe living among citizens and inculcate a proactive mindset towards safety and security.

FSAI president Pankaj Dharkar said: "In the time of rapid modernisation, fire security has become a major factor in everyone's life. Everyday, we are witnessing fire hazards in malls, hospitals, buildings and plants. These incidents occurred mainly because of negligence and unawareness to handle such situations."

He said the major focus of Bhubaneswar sub-chapter of the FSAI would be creating awareness among general public and the owners of malls, hotels and other such facilities on fire safety. "We are happy to announce the installation of Bhubaneswar sub-chapter and hope that it will attain its objective with people's participation," said Dharkar.

The FSAI organised a stakeholders' meet on Saturday where officers from the fire services department, chief engineers of the public works department, officials from the East Coast Railway, the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation and the Bhubaneswar Development Authority took part.

Amid a number of such fire-related incidents in the malls and hospitals in recent past, the decision of installation of the FSAI sub-chapter for the state capital was welcomed by the citizens' forum. "It is important to create awareness among the people as well as the owners of malls and hotels on the fire safety measures," said Bhagbat Dash of Senior Citizens' Forum of Acharya Vihar.

The FSAI will get its members from government and private sectors and various citizens' forums. It will promote the use of advance fire safety and security systems, develop fire safety and security engineering education and awareness and work towards maintaining ethical standards amongst its members.