Indian Express 24.12.2009
Water mist fire extinguishers not financially viable: BMC to fire dept
The fire department’s plan to acquire water mist fire extinguishers will have to wait for at least a year owing to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s financial crisis.
The fire department wanted to buy water mist fire extinguishers as they are better equipped to fight fire and require 80 per cent less water than normal fire-fighting equipment, sources said. On an average, the normal equipment may require up to 40,000 liters of water to extinguish a Grade- Two major fire, they said.
“The water mist fire extinguishers are expensive and not financially viable for the corporation at present. Making use of water from bore wells and dug wells is a cost effective way of saving both water and funds,” additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said.
The civic body plans to save at least 40 lakh liters of potable water till the next monsoon and has asked the fire department to tap into alternative sources of water like bore wells and dig wells to fulfill its water requirement.
The city has 33 fire stations and they will be asked to dig their own bore wells within the next two weeks, sources said. Chief Fire Officer Uday Tatkare said that 40 per cent of these stations already have wells but they are largely not in to use. “We will make sure that all fire stations acquire water from alternate sources so that potable water is saved,” he said.
