Mumbai: Fire brigade to get new 30-metre ladder for Rs 9 crore

The fire at One Avighna Park took place on October 21. File pic

The fire brigade plans to retire its 17-year-old, 30-metre turntable ladder and replace it with a new one at a cost of Rs 9 crore, which includes the charges for five years' maintenance. This comes days after corporators raised questions on the effective use of costly firefighting equipment at the last standing committee meeting.
The fire brigade has approached the standing committee regarding the new ladder, saying that they need it to fight fires in high-rises.

Proposal to be tabled today

The proposal will be discussed in the standing committee meeting today. In the proposal the department has mentioned that the old ladder is beyond repair and its parts are not available in the market anymore. Also, the ladder can only reach up to the 10th floor.

Tenders for the same were invited in May 2021 and deadlines were extended thrice till June. Only one company - M/s Rosenbauer International AG - came forward and fixed the cost of the ladder at Rs 5.76 crore. However, along with taxes and other charges the BMC has to shell out Rs 7.95 crore and an additional Rs 1.24 crore for five years' maintenance.

Concerns of corporators

Last week, corporators across party lines spoke about the delay in response to fire incidents and also questioned the effective use of costly machinery.

Ravi Raja, leader of Opposition, told the committee that the fire brigade procured a 90-metre ladder and a robot to douse flames but they had no idea on how effectively they were being used.

Similarly, Rais Shaikh, group leader of Samajwadi Party, had said, "Fire incidents in high-rises have exposed many loopholes in the firefighting system and high-end technology has proved to be ineffective."