THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Around 35 advanced mist-fire tenders made on pickup truck platform have been delivered to Kerala Fire and Rescue Services this week. Apart from this, there are 25 mini fire tenders with 3,000 litres capacity.
As per officials, the pickup mounted truck comes with advanced technology that can help reach out to the place of fire faster than bigger trucks. Both vehicles, being smaller can enter smaller bylanes and go around apartment premises. “The 3,000-litre mini fire tenders are normal ones built on Eicher chassis. It will go empty in three minutes. On the other hand, mist fire tenders built on Tata Xenon chassis can work non-stop for 25 minutes,” said M. Noushad, Thiruvananthapuram Divisional Fire Officer.
Pick-up mounted mist fire fighting system. (Photo: DC)
The misty fire tenders delivered by New Delhi based Brijbasi fire safety systems can tackle even higher grade of fire. There are GPS cameras in the pickup. Apart from this are hydraulic systems that can be used to salvage objects and rescue people from vehicles that have crashed. Mini fire tenders were considered as missing factors during fires that broke out at Chalai and Padmanbhaswamy temple. The bigger trucks were ineffective during fire fight on Papanasam cliff at Varkala also. “The fire and rescue director general (Tomin J. Thachankary) will decide on the deployment once vehicle are registered,” he added. Thiruvananthapuram was expected to get nearly a dozen of the mist fire tenders. Mini-fire tenders that were procured earlier this decade had caused controversies as many of them broke down on being loaded with water.
