In Mumbai: Vasai-Virar fire brigade gets 7 Enfields to reach sites faster

Currently, the fire brigade takes approximately 10 minutes to reach a site but with the new bikes, the fire fighters are expected to cover the distance in seven minutes.

In an attempt to reduce the time that the fire brigade takes to reach a site, the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) on Monday introduced seven new fire bikes .

All the bikes are red, as it is the signature colour of the fire brigade, for easy identification. (HT photo)

Currently, the fire brigade takes approximately 10 minutes to reach a site but with the new bikes, the fire fighters are expected to cover the distance in seven minutes.

“The fire bikes are built on Royal Enfield bike chassis as they are sturdy and have a cubic capacity (cc) between 350 and 500,” said Bharat Gupta the chairman of the fire committee of VVMC.

The bikes cost the corporation around Rs8 lakh each and were purchased through DGS&D contract basis. DGS&D is a government e-market site for bulk orders for public institutions.

Speaking about the need for the fire bikes, Gupta said, “Frequent traffic snarls make it difficult for huge 12,000-litre capacity fire tankers to enter narrow lanes. So, we decided to introduce fire bikes which would reach the site quickly .”

Each of the bikes contains two fire extinguishers of 10-litre capacity each and a smaller cylinder, siren and lamps.

All of them are red, the signature colour of the fire brigade, for easy identification, he added.

The fire committee chairman further said, “We also plan to set up six new fire substations and increase manpower. Currently, we have around 226 jawans and we plan to recruit more to fight fires .”