Eye in the sky: Drones set to help Mumbai’s firemen fight blazes soon

The Mumbai civic body has allotted Rs151 crore towards the acquisition of new technology, compared to the Rs165 crore allotted last year

In the aftermath of the Kamala Mills fire that killed 14 people in 2017, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is focusing on ensuring that the city’s buildings comply with fire safety norms, and training its firemen. This has been reflected in the civic budget 2018-19.

The fire at Kamala Mills on December 29 killed 14 people. (HT File)

The BMC gave the fire brigade Rs180.62 crore, of which Rs12.10 crore has been reserved exclusively for the fire safety and compliance cell, formed after the December fire.

The civic body has allotted Rs151 crore towards the acquisition of new technology, compared to the Rs165 crore allotted last year. The civic body also plans to buy firefighting robots and fire-mapping drones.

The investigation into the Kamala Mills blaze revealed that there could have been lapses in the fire brigade officials performing their duty, following which the BMC decided to urgently the department.

To ensure that buildings comply with fire safety norms, the BMC aims to separate its firefighting wing from the fire brigade’s administrative wing.

The compliance cell will regularly inspect Mumbai’s 2.98 lakh buildings, ensure fire compliance, and issue fire no-objection certificates. Around 70 station officer posts and posts for 35 firemen have been created in the cell, which has been given 28 new vehicles to conduct inspections.

To promote fitness among firemen, the budget has proposed a drill tower and multi-utility training simulator that will be set up at Wadala.