Fire brigade to procure portable systems to fight high-rise blazes

According to a senior official from the fire brigade, the portable firefighting system has helped firefighters cut down on the crucial time that is lost during putting out large fires in high-rises as it improves access for the firemen. “It takes about 7-8 minutes for the fire brigade to set up the traditional firefighting system. The first few minutes are crucial during any firefighting, which can result in a flame to rage and turn into a large scale, full-blown blaze if not contained in time,” said an official.

“In such a scenario, if a firefighter is carrying the equipment on the back it helps in getting access to the site of fire easier and facilitates disaster response within the first few crucial minutes. This can save multiple lives and prevent property damage,” the official added.

According to a senior fire brigade official, fires in high-rise buildings are challenging for the Mumbai fire Brigade as external firefighting systems — equipment owned by the Fire Brigade — have limitations in terms of scaling the height of a building. “If the internal firefighting system of the building is not operational then the Fire Brigade has to set up its system to douse the fire. That means bringing in trucks, finding parking space for them, setting up a hose pipe and physically carrying it up to the floor where the fire broke out in case of a high-rise building (as lifts are not operational during a fire). During such scenarios, this portable firefighting system is useful,” the official quoted above added.

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About 83 per cent of the buildings in Mumbai do not follow fire safety norms. According to a reply by Chief Minister Eknath Sinde to the Maharashtra legislature, of the 346 buildings inspected by the Fire Brigade between November 2021 and April 2022, 286 did not comply with fire safety norms and only 60 had fire safety measures in place.