Fire department scales new heights

With high-rises propping up around the city, the fire services have bolstered their preparedness for fire disasters with a skylift that can reach up to the tenth floor. For the Fire Department here, the commissioning of the engine marks the fulfilment of a long-demand for a skylift, after the fire on the fourth floor at the Trade Centre in the city on August 12, 2009. The Rs. 4.95-crore Bronto Skylift F32 RLX (Rescue Ladder eXtra versatile), which now sits at the office of Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Service at Pandeshwar, can deploy a “powerful” ladder in under two minutes, to allow firemen – and an extended hose – access to the higher reaches of the building, said Chief Fire Officer H.S. Varadarajan. This is a huge fillip for the department whose ladders hitherto could only reach 34 feet (or around 10m), he said. According to the company that manufactures the machines, the ladder reaches a height of 32 m with a maximum outreach of 23 m. The fire platform was described as the “largest of its kind”, enabling for better movement of firemen and rescued persons – a maximum of five at a time – on the top of the ladder. The 18-tonne fire engine can pump out water at 3,800 litres/min, the company has said. “The benefits are never-ending, and this is especially useful in a city where buildings are now crossing 60m in height,” said Mr. Varadarajan, adding that apart from the lift being remote operated, safety features include closing the platform when five people enter it and mechanism to allow personnel lower the skylift even when the pneumatic mechanism breaks. Drawback The only drawback he sees is that the vehicle needs a setback of 6.5m for buildings – something that is available only for high-rises constructed after 2009. The vehicle had been procured from Finland through the funds available with the Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, and had landed in Bangalore nearly six months ago. “Because the drivers and firemen had to be trained in operating the vehicle, there was a delay in the fire tender coming here,” he said. With more high-rises scheduled to dot the landscape of the city, Mr. Varadarajan said the procedure to procure another vehicle such as this for Mangalore has started. -The Hindu