Fire Force all set for overhaul

K.R. Sreenivas / TNN / Aug 24, 2005, 00:19 IST

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BANGALORE: The Fire department is all fired up to revamp itself. A helicopter, more fire stations and infrastructure are on the agenda.

BANGALORE: The Fire Force department is all fired up to revamp itself. A helicopter, more fire stations and infrastructure are on the agenda.
The department is looking for a 'fire escape'. For this, it has put out a proposal to procure a helicopter on lease from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to fight fire in areas where fire engines are not able to reach.
On a few occasions, the personnel had found it difficult to put out fires.Like the recent one that destroyed a furniture shop in the busy Shivaji Nagar area as the fire engines could not position themselves to fight the fire.
The HAL is working out modalities to meet the demands of the Fire Force. The helicopter can carry up to 1.5 tonnes of water and it can be positioned rightly to fight a raging fire.

S. Mariswamy, DGP, Fire and Emergency Services, Home Guards and Civil Defence, told The Times of India that HAL has to modify the helicopter to meet their requirement.
Mariswamy said: "It will be too costly to purchase the Advanced Light Helicopter and maintain it, but it will be useful for us if it is made available on a need basis." The Fire Force has also put out a proposal to set up one fire station in every taluk of Karnataka. Presently, there are 115 fire stations.

Even though 28 sanctioned fire stations are yet to come up, another 54 have been sanctioned, so that all the taluks in the state will be covered. Mariswamy said that as part of the Government of India Disaster Management Cell, following tsunami in Tamil Nadu, Mumbai floods and the Belgaum floods, the state government has sanctioned Rs 323.30 crore for upgradation over the next five years. "By 2010, the whole state will be covered."
As part of its revamp, the department will also deploy one rescue van and one ambulance in every fire station. Bangalore alone has 11 fire stations.
A rescue van will have equipment to deal with bodies being trapped under concrete walls, steel structures and trees. Presently, the department has two turntable ladders which can reach 35 metres height. The department is procuring a 56-metre snorkel.

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