The Hindu 16.04.2010
Disaster fighting machine arrives
M. Malleswara Rao
| ‘Hazmat' can tackle chemical, biological and nuclear accidents |
Hazmat is manufactured at an estimated Rs. 5 crore
It will be flagged off by Chief Minister K. Rosaiah on Saturday
- Photo: Mohd. Yousuf 
New acquisition: Fire-fighters attached to the emergency rescue vehicle at the Secretariat on Thursday.
HYDERABAD: The State is finally in possession of a state of the art hazardous material handling vehicle.
Procured by the State Disaster Response & Fire Services (DRFS) Department, the new vehicle – Hazmat – arrived here from Uttar Pradesh and trial run of the new vehicle has commenced at the Secretariat on Thursday.
Manufactured with an estimated Rs. 5 crore, Hazmat is equipped with facilities to tackle chemical, biological and nuclear accidents in addition to oil/acid spillages. Components and equipment were imported from Germany, Holland and the US and assembled at Mathura in UP where the vehicle was fabricated on Volvo chassis by Brij Basi Hi-Tech Udyog Limited.
DRFS director general Aruna Bahuguna who oversaw the vehicle's manoeuvrings during the trial operations said this was India's fourth Hazmat, the first three stationed at Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad and it would be flagged off by Chief Minister K. Rosaiah on Saturday.
Though it is meant for the newly constructed Secretariat fire station, it is being kept at Film Nagar fire station for the time being for want of staff.
Officials concerned decided to procure Hazmat for the Secretariat where fire accidents were not infrequent, the biggest one being the last summer's blaze in the “D” block. The vehicle has several special features and facilities with cabin itself resembling a mini work-station with computer, fax and other gadgets kept at specified slots for dissemination of information from the trouble-spot.
A revolving video camera is installed on its top along with mast-lights, to enable operator inside to have a comprehensive view of the disaster spot.
Equipment enabling the operator to listen to small voices buried underneath debris in case of earthquakes or building collapse have been installed in Hazmat. The belly of Hazmat has two tanks, each containing 1,000 litres of water and foam.
Hazmat operators wear spacesuit-like dress and masks so that they can drive directly into the disaster zone for search, rescue and fire-fighting operations. It has circulating air filter, victim location system, inflatable decontamination shelter, dose rate meter to measure nuclear radiation, multi-gas detectors, ventilator and smoke extractor and explosion-proof system.
