Fire Services to buy 32-metre long ladder
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, NOV 6
The Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has tendered work of procuring the tallest Aerial Ladder to Italian firm- Cela SRL.
The 32-metre long ladder costing Rs 3.61 crore will supersede its ancestor, 23.5 metre long ladder which was procured 19 years ago.
Talking to Herald, DFES Director Ashok Menon said the ladder will be in Goa in six to eight months.
Menon stated that the decision to hand over the tender to an Italian company came after it was noticed that India does not have a technology to construct such a huge ladder.
The presence of sky scrappers in Goa’s urban areas has forced the fire services to buy a ladder, which can reach the tallest building in the State.
Goa has 28 metres as the tallest structure, which can be serviced by a new ladder, which will be computer operated.
Chief Minister Digamber Kamat during the last budget speech assured to buy such a ladder as a part of modernisation of fire department and had also assured to provide space for the functioning of tallest ladder.
Accordingly, the aerial ladder platform will be commissioned at satellite fire
station planned at Economic Development Corporation (EDC) plot at Patto.
Menon confirmed that 500 sq meter area has already been purchased by the department at EDC and is planning to hand over the construction to Goa State Infrastructural Development Corporation (GSIDC).
The director said that the ladder being large in size it would be difficult to move out within the city.
“The satellite fire station at EDC, housing aerial ladder would be an arm of DFES, Panjim. A team of expert fire fighters would be placed here, who will conduct awareness programmes, trainings and mock drills using this ladder at all high rise buildings at Patto,” he stated.
“People would be also trained on how to escape at the time of fire emergency,” director added.
Along with Panjim, the department is also planning to have two more aerial ladders one each at Vasco and Ponda. “The situation in these two cities is similar to that of Panjim and hence we have to opt for it,” Menon said.
Apart from this, DFES will be also buying two Turn Table Ladders, which can be of great help even in minus depth, at Margao and Mapusa.
Menon said that the road conditions in these cities are very narrow and there is also rise in number of buildings on both side of the roads. “These ladders can go even in much narrow roads and also can go downwards, if there is rescue operation below the bridge or in a channel,” he stated.
As per the statistics, DFES receives 1000-odd fire emergency calls every year of which nearly 50 are marked as major fire accidents.
