The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) is considering to induct a fire drone in its fleet capable of extinguishing high-altitude fires in its fleet. The first demonstration of such a drone took place on Wednesday, March 1, at the headquarters of the MFB in Byculla.
Besides, the demonstrations of other companies' drones will be held soon, civic officials said.
The fire department officials suggested some changes to the city's requirements after a drone inspection. The MFB needs modern equipment to deal with fires in high-rise buildings.
On January 26, the MFB had a tough time controlling the fire that broke out on the 42nd floor of a 44-storey residential tower in Dadar (East). The fire-fighting system of the building was not working and the 90-meter-high ladder could not be used due to wind. Firefighters climbed the flat with the help of a pipe to douse the fire. A drone would be beneficial in such situations.
The drone would give an aerial view of the top floor and its capacity to spray water will help in dousing flames in the high-rise.
“Currently, we have the tallest turntable ladder that can go up to 30-32 floors. 60-70 storey buildings are rapidly coming up in the city. And so we need modern equipment. They will be able to click photos and give an aerial view of the upper floors. Also, we had to check the wind speed or whether the water-carrying drone would come down under its pressure,” sources said.
The drone introduced by an Indian company can fly up to 62 meters (up to 18 floors) weighing 100 kg. It has the ability to spray water up to 20 meters. The municipality has sent specific requirements to the company who have agreed to make changes accordingly. Meanwhile, 3-4 other companies have approached the municipality to present their technology, sources said.
To improve the infrastructure and capacity of MFBs, BMC has launched a project called "Program for Enhancing Emergency Response". Under this MFB will have five new fire stations, fire drones, quick response multipurpose vehicles, hydraulic and aerial platforms, two fire robots by 2023-24. For this, the civic body has made a provision of INR 227.07 crores.