Mumbai fire brigade manages a tall order, to get special vehicle to reach up to 50 floors

The special purpose vehicle will have an in-built pump that can push water up to the 50th floor. It will help in cases where the building’s internal fire-fighting system – dedicated pipes that carry water to every floor– is not working.

In a first, Mumbai’s fire brigade will get a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to tackle fires in high-rises (those going up to 50 floors or 150m in height) by December.

File photo of a fire in Sargam Society near Ganesh Garden in Tilak Nagar in Mumbai, December 27, 2018. Currently, the fire brigade has a pump that can throw water up to 30m, or nine-ten floors of a building. (Pratik Chorge/HT File)

The vehicle has an in-built pump that can push water up to the 50th floor. It will help in cases where the building’s internal fire-fighting system – dedicated pipes that carry water to every floor– is not working.

Currently, the fire brigade has a pump that can throw water up to 30m, or nine-ten floors of a building. The machine weighs about 150kg, and has to be manually carried up the staircase of the building where the fire has occurred. Besides, the fire brigade is equipped with a ladder that can reach a maximum height of 91m or 30 floors.

A senior officer from the Mumbai Fire Brigade said, “In case of a fire on the upper floors, the team has to set up the elaborate machine after every ten floors to pump water to the higher floors. The hosepipe is detached and attached to this machine after every tenth floor, which is a time- and energy-consuming process.”

Most buildings were found to be flouting fire safety norms, and having a dysfunctional firefighting system. The special purpose vehicle has been designed after trials for almost a year.

Tenders for purchase of the vehicle will be floated this week. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has allocated ₹2.5 crore for the vehicle in its budget for 2019-20.