Mumbai fire brigade to procure bikes for quicker response in congested areas

Mumbai

In a bid to reduce the time taken by firefighters to reach the site in case of fire in a congested area, the Mumbai fire brigade is procuring motorbikes.

According to civic officials, the narrow lanes of the city have been affecting firefighting operations and this move aims to offer quick response, especially in case of minor fires.

Fire brigade officials want to deploy such bikes at locations where fire stations are further than usual and fire engines take a lot of time to reach the site.

The fire brigade faces serious challenges while carrying out operations in congested areas such as Bhendi Bazar, Dongri, Kalbadevi, Bhuleshwar, and in slum areas that houses about 60% of the city’s population.

The civic body is looking at deploying bikes that have basic facilities of a pump and water tank that will carry about 30 litres of water on each side of the bike and can throw water up to 20 metres. The tank will be connected to a high-pressure hose. The fire department also held a demonstration last October of one of the such modified bikes at the Byculla command centre where a Royal Enfield Himalayan 410CC bike was modified to a firefighting vehicle.

Civic chief Ajoy Mehta in his budget speech last week said, “To improve response time further, 20 fire bikes will be procured and will be placed at mini fire stations. For procuring these bikes, a provision of Rs3.10 crore is proposed.”

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