Bhubaneswar, Nov 16 (IANS): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday said the state government has decided to set up 335 fire stations, with the objective to open at least one fire station in each block.

He said this will be the highest among all states in the country.

"The state government has been making efforts to make fire service more accessible to the villages and also reduce the response time in case of any mishap," Patnaik said.

He was speaking at a seminar here on fire safety measures in high-rise buildings.

"It has been decided to set up 335 fire stations with an objective to open at least one fire station in each block of our state," he added.

In addition to the existing 232 fire stations in the state, steps are being taken to make 53 more fire stations operational in a year's time, he added.

Informing that as many as 1,042 fireman drivers have been recently recruited to meet the additional man power requirement, Patnaik said that the government has also sanctioned three training institutes at Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri to facilitate training and professional responsiveness in fire prevention and fire fighting and rescue and rehabilitation.

He said the government would modify the rules under the Odisha Fire Service Act soon for ensuring adequate precautionary measures by owners and occupants of the buildings to prevent fire mishaps.