Firefighters in Chandigarh to come riding on Bullets soon

As many as seven Bullets have been purchased by the department at a cost of Rs 7.77 lakh which are being further equipped with advanced firefighting technology worth Rs 45 lakh. 

Fire tender vehicles zooming through the streets of Chandigarh to douse a fire will soon be passé as fire fighters will be seen riding in their new red colour Bullets. Realising that fire tender vehicles get usually caught up in traffic snarls and are unable to pass through narrow lanes and congested areas, the department have purchased these bikes.

As many as 7 Bullets have been purchased by the department at a cost of Rs 7.77 lakh which are further being equipped with advanced fire fighting technology worth Rs 45 lakh.

Two AFTs with 10 litres of water each on both sides of the bike, a gun to discharge the water, an oxygen cylinder which would make pressure for the release of water, 750 ml of foam in a machine all have been made available at each of the seven bikes.

Additional Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said that these fire fighting bikes would be flagged off in about a fortnight’s time as equipment and kits are being installed.

A senior official of the fire department said that the fire tenders were facing problem in entering congested areas like sectors 22, Manimajra and other internal areas whenever a fire broke out. Because of encroachments in these sectors, the roads are choked which makes it difficult for vehicles to reach on time.

“There have been so many incidents that the our big vehicles are unable to enter internal lanes. Also, they get stuck in traffic as well. At least, the bikes can make way easily and surpass heavy traffic as well,” the official said.

However, a fireman said that these bikes will be helpful only in small fire incidents. “The water can be released upto 10 metres. So, it wont immediately help in case a big fire breaks out,” he said.

In 2015, the fire department was pulled up when the vehicle reached late at a fire spot at Shantinagar in Manimajra. The firemen in their response to senior officials had said that the lanes were really narrow and choked with traffic because of which they couldn’t reach on time. Following that, the officials had proposed to have bikes.