In the last 1-2 years, Mumbai witnessed many fire incidents where fire the brigade team had to struggle to rescue the survivors due to lack of accessibility owing to the city’s narrow roads and bylanes. In order to improve the situation, the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) had decided to procure motorcycles that carry 40 litres of water and other firefighting equipment.
However, the process came to a standstill when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) rejected the idea, as only one bidder expressed interest. Now, the MFB wants to reopen the tenders.
Firefighting bikes include Royal Enfield Himalayan bikes fitted with a 40-litre water tank along with an integrated fire-fighting pump, a 30-metre hose reel, GPS, light, and other basic firefighting equipment.
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In the last decade, over 600 people have lost their lives due to fire accidents in Mumbai. It is believed that many of these lives could have been saved provided the Fire Department had procured firefighting bikes like Kerala and Karnataka.
Many of these fires occur in places with limited accessibility that hinders the rescue process.
This month, the Fire Department will again float the tender for five bikes on a trial basis, though the requirement is for 20 bikes. However, the department is worried about the lack of bidders.
One of the senior officers from the fire department said that that they need specific equipment for such modified bike. He added that it becomes difficult to get bidders because of all these complications.