The fire department has been waiting to purchase a 55-metre turntable ladder for a decade now.

The department had first sent a request for the equipment to the Haryana Directorate of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D), Panchkula, in 2008. While the request is still pending with the DGS&D, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), which oversees the Haryana Fire Services in Gurugram, set aside Rs 14 crore in its 2019-20 budget for the fire department, Rs 10 crore of which are specifically meant to buy the turntable ladder, which will ensure better access and control in dousing blazes and evacuation.

“A proposal for a turntable ladder has been pending with DGS&D for more than a decade, and we were uncertain when they would approve it. Hence, we approached the MCG to check if they had funds for purchasing the ladder,” assistant divisional safety officer IS Kashyap said.

During the budget meeting, MCG additional municipal commissioner YS Gupta had said, “We have allocated Rs 14 crore for the fire department in the 2019-2020 budget. On their request, Rs 10 crore was reserved to purchase a 55-metre turntable ladder which will help them upgrade their fire fighting and rescue machinery.”

In the past, the unavailability of this equipment, capable of turning 360 degrees, has hampered rescue operations in congested areas, officials said, adding that they approached MCG days before the budget with this specific request.

Currently, the fire department has one hydraulic ladder capable of reaching 42 metres or till the 14th floor of a building. A turntable ladder will help them reach till the 19th floor. Officials said that aside from a higher elevation for dousing fire, the extra 13 metres will give them greater reach in rescuing people in a city that has more than 1,200 high rises—buildings measuring above 14 metres or five storeys.

Fire department officials said that in narrow, congested lanes, their fire tenders can reach till a specific point, and aren’t able to directly access the site of fire with the hydraulic platform. They said a turntable ladder will be useful in such cases as it can be rotated precisely to reach the nearest point possible in a blaze.

Kashyap said that since turntable ladders are only manufactured in a few European countries, it is likely the equipment will be bought from Germany or Finland. He said the process of procuring the equipment can take a minimum of six months. The ladder has a weight capacity of nearly 300kg and can accommodate three to five people at a time inside a rescue cage.

First Published: Mar 01, 2019 04:06 IST