Sirens sound preparedness bugle at mock drills in Bengaluru

Better be safe than sorry: Agencies ready for hostile attacks as rescue simulations go off with precision.

Bengaluru: At 3.58 pm on Wednesday, the air raid siren blared for nearly sixty seconds at the Home Guards and Civil Defence Academy (HGCDA) next to the Ulsoor Lake in Bengaluru, marking the beginning of the week-long civil defence mock drills in three districts of the state.

The drills titled ‘Operation Abhyaas’ were held across the country hours after India launched an attack on nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In the presence of Home Minister G Parameshwara, DG&IGP Alok Mohan, Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda and other senior officers, the civil defence and emergency personnel displayed preparedness for an emergency and hostile attack and their capability to mount immediate and effective rescue.

The simulations began with the use of air raid sirens, which also blared in different parts of the city. There are 32 functioning air raid sirens in Bengaluru.

Senior firefighters DH spoke with said sirens are used to warn of an impending aerial attack in the form of missiles and fighter jets.

“There are mainly two scenarios where an air raid siren is used: code red and code green,” said a senior fire officer.

In case of a code red, the siren will blare for two minutes and six times, with the frequency of the sound increasing and decreasing. This indicates an emergency and mandates that civilians draw the curtains, switch off lights and move to designated bunkers or shelters.

Code green is when sirens blare for a minute straight without any fluctuations in the sound frequency.

“This is to let the civilians know that the danger has passed, but they should be cautious while they exit the bunkers and shelters and move out,” a senior officer said.

Next, personnel from the disaster response force effectively used dinghies and stretchers to move the injured to safety from the water. Temporary set-up of hospitals and evacuation of civilians to bunkers and demilitarised zones was also part of the simulation.

The mock drills demonstrated the use of ropes, stretchers and nets to rescue people from high-rises and the use of fire and emergency personnel and rescue vehicles to evacuate people from buildings bombarded with artillery and bombs.

Particularly significant at the drill was the use of Bronto Skylift F54HDT, an aerial ladder platform with the state fire and emergency services.

With a working load of 400 kg and a 21-meter maximum outreach, the personnel demonstrated how the aerial ladder platform could rescue trapped victims in buildings and also douse fire.

Towards the evening, between 6.40 pm and 7 pm, a blackout mock drill was held at civil defence headquarters. It was restricted to home guards and HGCDA, not across the city.

“Blackout drills have two major functions: one is to train civilians to shut down all lights so that the enemy fighter jets don’t spot the targets. The second is to equip civilians in case of attacks on power grids, so that they can safely navigate in the dark,” said a senior fire officer.

Air raid siren scenarios

Code red: Two-minute siren six times with low & high sound

It’s a sign that civilians should prepare for hostile attack

Draw curtains, switch off lights & move to shelters

Code green: One-minute siren with long pitch with no change in frequency

A sign that it is safe for civilians

Mock drill participants

NDRF

SDRF

Civil defence personnel

NSS

NCC

A medical team from Ramaiah Hospital

Fire and emergency services

Home Guards

Scouts and Guides

Traffic and law and order police