The Times of India 18.11.2013
PCMC gets vehicle for high-rise rescue operation
PUNE: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation fire brigade has received the much-awaited fire fighting and rescue vehicle, equipped with a 54-meter-long ladder to help in high-rise rescue operations. The civic body had been trying to procure this vehicle for the past five years.
"The civic body has purchased this special vehicle made in Finland at a total cost of Rs 8.5 crore. The trial run was conducted at the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) hospital premises," Kiran Gawde, fire officer, PCMC, told TOI.
The ladder can reach a maximum height of 54m in case of emergencies, but can be used more effectively for fire-fighting and rescue operations in buildings having a height of up to 52m. It has automatic gears and can be used to rescue a maximum of four people. There is an additional engine to operate the ladder and cradle, in case of trouble with the main engine, Gawde said. The vehicle also comes equipped with a double operating system for the ladder and cradle as well as a fault locking system.
"There is no provision of a water tank in the vehicle but there is a facility to pump water from other sources. Moreover, this is a special purpose rescue vehicle which, if needed, can be used for fire-fighting operations with the assistance of water tankers or other fire engines", Gawde said.
At present, the PCMC fire brigade has engines which can be used to rescue people in buildings with a height of up to 15m. "As builders are allowed to construct buildings up to a height of 70m in the municipal limits, we felt there was a need for this vehicle", Gawde said.
He attributed the five-year delay to the high cost of the vehicle and also said that the civic body wanted a vehicle that complied with the Bharat Stage IV pollution control norms. "Unfortunately, no such vehicle is manufactured in the country fulfilling these norms. So we had to wait longer and decided to purchase the imported vehicle to meet our needs."
This vehicle will be stationed at the fire brigade's main station at Sant Tukaramnagar in Pimpri. The fire brigade currently has 10 fire engines and a 150-strong staff. It has a total of four fire stations in the municipal limits.
Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation fire brigade has received the much awaited fire fighting and rescue vehicle, equipped with a 54-meter-long ladder to help rescue people from high-rise buildings. The civic body had been trying to procure this vehicle for the past five years.
"The civic body has purchased this special vehicle made in Finland at a total cost of Rs 8.5 crore. It comprises of totally imported chassis and unit. The trial run of this vehicle was held at the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial(YCM) hospital premises," Kiran Gawde, fire officer, PCMC, told TOI.
"The ladder of vehicle can reach a maximum height of 54m in case of emergencies, but can be used more effectively for fire-fighting and rescue operations in buildings having a height of upto 52m. It has automatic gears and can be used to rescue a minimum of two and maximum of four people even though the maximum capacity of the cradle is five as firemen who are conducting rescue operations will also occupy the seat. There is an additional engine to operate the ladder and cradle incase of trouble with the main engine, which can be used to bring down the cradle in case there is a breakdown in main operating engine. As a result the rescued people do not have to be stranded in mid-air if the main engine breaks down." Gawde said.
The vehicle also comes equipped with a double operating system for the ladder and cradle as well as a fault locking system. He added, "There is a double operating system for the ladder and cradle due to which the person sitting in the vehicle outside as well as the person sitting in the cradle can operate it. But there is a special switch in the vehicle below through which he can override the commands of the person operating from the cradle. The vehicle has a fault locking system. So if there is wrong movement of the vehicle or there are bad natural conditions like high wind speeds then the vehicle gives audio visual warning to the operator and the vehicle control system gets locked. So one has to operate the vehicle properly then only it will move."
He further said that the operator will not be able to take the ladder to a desired height which is below 54 meters if there is a high tension electricity line going above the ladder as the computer signals won't reach it. This is good for the safety of the vehicle and the crew in the ladder who would have got electrocuted if the ladder touches the high tension line but the people who have gathered in the area may think that the fire brigade is not rescuing the people eventhough it has the requisite capacity."
"There is no provision of a water tank in the vehicle but there is a facility in the vehicle to pump water from other sources and use it for fire fighting. We can use the water from water tankers or fire engines accompanying the vehicle to get water for fire fighting purposes. Earlier the manufacturers used to provide water tank also in such vehicles but they realised that while operating such big ladders there was a chance that the vehicle may get imbalanced due to the water in it. As a result they have stopped providing such facility around 15 years back. Moreover, this is a special purpose rescue vehicle which, if needed, can be used for fire fighting operations with the assistance of water tankers or other fire engines", Gawde said.
At present, the PCMC fire brigade has engines which can be used to rescue people in buildings with a height of upto 15m. "As people are allowed to construct buildings upto a height of 70m in the municipal limits, But there are very few buildings which are having height of upto 60 meters. The maximum average height of the existing buildings in the municipal limits is 45 meter. So there we felt there was a need for this vehicle", Gawde said.
"The civic body had planned to purchase this vehicle around five years back itself. But the cost was too high. The main reason for the delay was that we wanted to purchase this type of vehicle which fulfills the Bharat Stage IV pollution control norms. Unfortunately no such vehicle is manufactured in the country fulfilling these norms. So we had to wait longer and later decided to purchase the imported vehicle to meet our needs", replied Gawde when enquired about the reasons for the delay in purchasing this vehicle.
This vehicle will be stationed at the fire brigade's main station at Sant Tukaramnagar in Pimpri. The fire brigade currently has 10 fire engines and a 150-strong staff. It has a total of four fire stations in the municipal limits, namely at Pimpri, Bhosari, Rahatni and Pradhikaran.
