Mumbai Fire Brigade to buy 55-metre water towers for Rs 12.39 crore

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THE Mumbai Fire Brigade will soon be procuring a 55-metre-high water tower to make it easier to reach areas located in dense, narrow lanes. As per fire brigade's proposal, the tower will help them reach an area that is 50-metres long. The cost of the tower is Rs 12.39 crore.

In the last few years, the fire brigade has bought upgraded fire dousing equipment such as fire fighting robot and Hazmat vans. Now, the fire brigade will be adding a water tower vehicle to its arsenal.

This will help while handling blazes in tall buildings on narrow roads, and in sprawling chawls where access is difficult. Most of the fires turn into major incidents as fire engineers can't reach the spot because of narrow lanes, double parking on the roads or due to huge slum pockets. Mumbai will be the only fire brigade in the country to have such a vehicle.

"Around 48 per cent of Mumbai's 1.24 crore population lives in slums. There are huge slum areas like Behrampada, Bandra's Garib Nagar, Dharavi and Vikhroli Parksite. Even when there are fires in high-rises, the fire brigade can't reach owing to the narrow approach roads. Densely populated areas like Bhendi Bajar, Kalbadevi and Bhuleshwar also pose a challenge," said an officer from the fire brigade.

The fire brigade had invited tenders in February 2019, but the tender deadline was extended twice as it had not received a response. As per the proposal submitted by the fire brigade to the BMC's standing committee, M/s Techchand and Sons has given the lowest rate at Rs 12.39 crore including taxes. The cost includes a two-year warranty and maintenance of five years. There is a provision of Rs 35.10 crore in the budget 2019-20.

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