Rs 30-cr gear for firemen

The city’s 2,300 firemen will soon cast away their navy blue woollen uniforms and century-old equipment to get into special fire resistant gear. The firefighters will get special fire resistant fluorescent jackets worth Rs 35,000 each, boots worth Rs 15,000 each and other accessories. Sayli Udas Mankikar reports.

The city’s 2,300 firemen will soon cast away their navy blue woollen uniforms and century-old equipment to get into special fire resistant gear.

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The firefighters will get special fire resistant fluorescent jackets worth Rs 35,000 each, boots worth Rs 15,000 each and other accessories.

The new gear will help drop the percentage of burn injury cases from 60 per cent to almost 20 per cent.

The municipal corporation cleared the Rs 30-crore proposal at the Standing Committee meeting on Thursday.

“The suits are of international standards, and made of special fibre that is water-proof and can stand high temperatures,” said Deputy Chief Fire Officer P Rahangdale.

“It will be able to resist temperature up to 1,000°C thus helping maintain the body temperature.”

The new personal protective equipment set will comprise a fire-resistant fluorescent jacket with breathing apparatus, helmet with

embedded lights, hood, harness belt, gloves, trousers and boots.

The head cover will be heavier and thermally insulative.

A protective hood has a upper head-covering section an anterior head-covering section having a window, through which portions of a wearer’s face will be exposed.

The anterior head-covering section will be made from comparatively heavier, thermally insulative and heat-reflective material.