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Efforts on to revive water hydrants

V.S. Palaniappan

A FEW AND FORGOTTEN: A fire hydrant on State Bank Road in Coimbatore.- Photo: K. Ananthan

Coimbatore: With mercury levels soaring this summer, the fire and rescue services department is in the process of identifying water hydrants and other water resources in and around the city.The focus is on water hydrants, the valves introduced by the British in the main pipelines for the fire tenders to tap the water resources in the event of a fire accident. These hydrants "essential in nature and aesthetic in appearance" are fast becoming history. Under the British regime, the municipalities had these hydrants in every ward but many of them had become defunct and useless. Earlier, near the hydrants there used to be a mark on the wall stating "FH (fire hydrant)" for easy identification by the firemen.

Deputy Director of Fire and Rescue Services, western region, R. Balsamy and Divisional Fire and Rescue Services Officer S. Ganapathy said the additional divisional fire officers and station fire officers had been asked to conduct a study on water hydrants. Every mobile fire tender is equipped with a bar and key to tap water from these hydrants, they said. Every fire station register would have a list of water bodies, water sources and even hydrants and earlier it was the duty of the fire officer to periodically inspect these water sources.

The list prepared after the study will help the department to take it up with the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) and the Corporation for reviving them. The department wants the Corporation and the TWAD to provide an outlet valve in water tanks in and around the city for fire tenders to tap water instantly rather than wait for tanker lorries.

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