City grows taller, fire dept struggles with short hydraulic platforms

The city fire department is yet to get the 104-metre high hydraulic platform, the procurement of which has been delayed for years. Sunil Thapliyal reports.

The city fire department is yet to get the 104-metre high hydraulic platform, the procurement of which has been delayed for years.

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The fire department had sent the proposal three years ago. At present, the city has only two 42-metre high hydraulic platforms while some of the buildings in the city are 90-metre high. A number of developers have planned 150-165 metre high residential towers.

“The department had sent proposals after a number of mishaps were reported in the city. Slums and godowns are prone to such accidents,” said a senior fire official on condition of anonymity.

Gurgaon has around 800 buildings as high as 90 metre. Many are under construction, of which some are up to 180-metre high. The fire department has only two 42-metre high hydraulic platforms with which firefighters can control blazes till 75-metre height.

“Many high-rises will come up in future and to prevent fires, we need new technology. The proposal was sent to higher authorities three years ago but is still pending,” said MS Bhardwaj, assistant regional fire officer. While the fire department has been struggling to get the equipment, DLF has got two 90-metre hydraulic platforms from Finland. “With the new hydraulic platforms, we can control fires up to 100-metre,” said a DLF official.