Nagpur: Adapting to the evolving demands of firefighting, the Fire and Emergency Services Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is set to introduce water bowsers for handling high-risk fire emergencies. The decision comes after fire brigade officials faced challenges in maintaining a continuous water supply through hoses during operations, prompting a reassessment and adjustment of their equipment needs.
As of now, 12 new water bowsers would be inducted gradually during the year ahead to strengthen the force capability. A water bowser is a trailer fitted with a tank that can carry water and a major advantage is its manoeuvrability in tight situations, especially in small lanes where huge trucks can’t move. The deliveries of water bowsers would be in stages but by next summer, the Fire Brigade would be well equipped and ready for any emergencies, said B P Chandankhede, Chief Fire Officer, while talking to a local newspaper.
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Tuesday 21 Jan. 2025
The force has placed orders for 5 bowsers of 16,000 litres, 6 of 2,000 litres and 3 of 5,000 litres capacity respectively. They are being manufactured as per specification of the Fire Brigade and would be custom fitted to suit the occasion as per operational requirements. He said the brigade had about 31 water tenders that were distributed among its fire stations located in various parts of the city. However as many of them crossed the 15-year-period, Regional Transport Office (RTO) promptly issued a letter directing scrapping them. So the agency was left with no option but to retire the 14 water tenders from the force thereby depleting their resources in one single go.
While placing orders for replacements, the brigade officials took internal assessment for previous firefighting operations and difficulties they faced. Chandankhede pointed out frequent operations in dense and congested Itwari and adjoining wholesale market areas of the city wherein the firefighters have to face too many obstacles while attempting to douse the flames. So after the deliberations the department realised that the big tenders cannot reach anywhere near the spot and the firefighters to attach pipes which is a time consuming operation.
The matter was discussed with Municipal Commissioner Dr Abhijeet Chaudhari and he quickly set aside substantial funds for procurement of new vehicles for strengthening the Fire Brigade, Chandankhede underlined. For the new bowers, about Rs 7 crore of funds would be utilised during the current financial year. The reason for opting for bowsers is that they can be moved in congested spaces without any hassle.
The first and foremost task is reaction time and these small bowsers are perfect for manoeuvrability and faster mobilisation and reaching the fire spots, Chandankhede explained further. He said Fire Brigade already has 19 small fire fighting tenders and the bowsers would add more teeth to operations as major water back-up work wonders in quelling raging fires within time. These bowsers would be fitted with a 35 feet extension ladder that would enable reaching top floors quite easily during rescue operations. They can also come handy for spraying water from a higher position in case of fire cases in multi storeyed apartment buildings.
Three new fire stations in city
Three new fire stations are being added to existing strength, including one renovated, as it would further add to the Fire Brigade’s capability. The new ones are one in Punapur, being developed by Smart City Corporation; one in Wathoda and another in Pachpaoli, a new building to replace the old one. The Wathoda and Punapur stations would increase the Fire Brigade’s presence in East Nagpur and reduce dependence on other existing units, said B P C handankhede.
