Bangalore: The Fire and Emergency Department has come up with ‘water mist fire protection’ to fight fires. The new technology is not only more effective than traditional fire fighting methods, but also saves large amounts of water.
The department is planning to roll out 50 motorbikes fitted with two water mist tanks on each vehicle to fight fires. Already, 20 bikes are in operation in Bengaluru and in the last three weeks, the new technology has been used in four fire accidents.
DG and IGP (Fire and Emergency Services) Om Prakash said that since the city does not have the luxury of emergency lanes to reach the site of fires, the department is planning to increase the number of bikes, which are Royal Enfield Bullet vehicles, to respond quickly to emergencies. “We are procuring about 30 more bikes which will have 2 water mist tanks of 9-litre capacity each. Nine litres of mist water is equivalent to 500 litres of conventional water,” he said.
Under the second phase, the department has fabricated a jeep and mounted a 300-litre tank of water mist on it. It will set up trolleys fitted with mist water tanks in Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha and other government buildings.
Deputy Director of Fire and Emergency Department D. Rashid said, “As motorbikes reach the site earlier, the first team of fire personnel can start fighting the fire, and also send a message back on the requirements at the site. We hope to use jeeps to fight even bigger fires.”
