BMC to purchase HazMat vehicles

To fight nuclear, biological and chemical attacks, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to buy hazardous material apparatus (HazMat) vehicles for its fire brigade department.

Hazardous material apparatus refer to specialised equipment used by fire fighters responding to calls involving potentially hazardous materials. These vehicles are highly customised to fit the needs of the fire department.

Civic chief Ajoy Mehta announced this during the commissioning of 16 new fully automatic fire engines at the Byculla headquarters of Mumbai Fire Brigade on Wednesday. This will improve the fire-fighting capacity of fire brigade considerably, he said.

A typical HazMat vehicle will have a portion dedicated to a command and communications centre. Fitted with computers, televisions, two-way radios and other equipment, this command centre is equipped with a portable lab complete with sinks and fume hoods. Essentially a mobile laboratory, it allows early on-site scientific analysis and monitoring, which will speed up the detection process and allow fire fighters and other emergency services to provide the correct response to a particular incident.

“In addition to this, a global positioning system (GPS) will also be set up for the fire brigade. It will be commissioned by the end of this year,” said Mr Mehta.

The GPS will enable the civic body to monitor the movements of the fire vehicle, on whether it has reached the fire spot and started its fire control operations.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has inaugurated 16 fully automatic new fire engines. According to fire officials, these 300 horsepower engines are very powerful and fuel-efficient equipped with electronic engine management system and common rail diesel injection system. They are also eco-friendly, complying with Bharat Stage IV (Euro IV) emission norms. Due to the installation of anti-lock breaking system, they are also useful on slippery roads, said fire officials.