No water for tankers to put out fire

HYDERABAD: It is not just the lack of staff that hampers fire service personnel when they rush to put out a blaze in the city.
None of the 14 fire service stations in the city have a borewell to fill water in a 5000-litre tanker that is used for rescue during a fire, department officers said.
At Gowliguda, the oldest fire station in the city, there are two.One unit is always in a state of readiness to leave the station in less than 60 seconds after receiving a call, and the second unit follows soon, an officer said.
The Gowliguda fire station has a peculiar problem.
The tankers have to be taken to the Shamsherganj reservoir, the Mir Alam lake or Hussain Sagar to be filled. “Only when one tanker is empty can it go for a refill. But all these locations are far off. Such refilling becomes double difficult when attending to a fire call,� the officer said. “Our effectiveness depend on available infrastructure, manpower and time,� he said.
The condition of many fire stations are poor including the Gowliguda station, set up in 1942. The station is housed in a dilapidated structure, which has developed cracks, and water seeps through during rains. The garage shed of the mobile fire unit also leaks causing hardship for firemen.