The Times of India          29.11.2013

PMC fire dept plans weekly mock drills from December

PUNE: The civic administration has planned weekly mock drills for the fire brigade across the city to keep the fire-fighting equipment in working condition. The administration also plans to give specially designed fire-fighting motorcycles for VIP convoys.

The fire department has six special two-wheelers.

The motorcycles are equipped with a compact water mist generating system and life-saving equipment. The Pune fire brigade was first in the state to get such motorcycles. They were procured last year. , which will help the fire brigade to immediately attend to fire calls from congested as well as slum areas. It were procured last year.

Every motorcycle has two cylinders filled with a mixture of water and foam. It has an air cylinder to break the water into small parts with maximum force.

The water jet can be on for 20 seconds. The cost of a single motorcycle was Rs 7 lakh.

A special firefighting vehicle, Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) was bought by the fire department in 2012. The ALP can reach a height of 70 metre and help fight fires in high-rise buildings. The fire brigade department has a vehicle with a ladder that can reach 42 metre and another one, with a capacity to reach a height of 32 metre. The Rs 13-crore ALP was procured from Finland.

"There were many complaints that the vehicles are lying idle. It is not only adding to the maintenance cost of the vehicles but also the chances of vehicles getting damaged have gone up. That's why the civic administration has planned to use them more frequently," said Rajendra Jagtap, additional commissioner of PMC. As many as 11 fire stations around the city will participate in the exercise that will start next month, he added.

Civic officials said the mock drills will not only help in the maintenance of the vehicles, but also help in creating fire safety awareness. During the mock drills, the fire-fighters will educate citizens on how to deal with a fire. They will distribute leaflets and have placards and banners.

The two wheelers will be used to escort the VIP vehicles specially during the tours of chief minister or governor in the city. Two out of four two wheelers will be deployed for this task.