Water tenders, the first line of defence against raging fires, are at a premium in the district, crippling the capacity of fire and rescue personnel to fight fire and related disasters effectively.
At last count, the fire and rescue department in Ernakulam division had a shortage of at least 15 full-fledged water tenders, which have a capacity to hold up to 4,500 litres of water.
The department is now pinning its hope on 83 new water tenders likely to be added to its fleet across the State in the near future. New chassis have already been bought and formalities are underway to identify the agency for assembling them into full-fledged water tenders.
“The shortage of water tenders in the district will be addressed once the new ones are available,” Fire and Rescue Services Divisional Officer R. Prasad told The Hindu .
Though it is ideal to have at least two water tenders in a fire station, only two out of the 16 stations in the district can boast that number, often leaving the fire and rescue personnel in a dilemma in the event of multiple calls for help. Only the station at Gandhi Nagar, the seat of the fire divisional officer, and the one at Koothattukulam have two water tenders while the rest have to manage with just one to go with mini water tenders and water lorries.
But not all the fire stations have the service of even mini fire waters, with the capacity to hold up to 3,000 litres of water, and water lorries, usually with a capacity of 7,000 litres and predominantly meant for transporting water from the source to the fire site.
Put together, the fire and rescue personnel in the district have 17 water tenders, five mini tenders, six water lorries, and a crash tender, which can apply foam as well, to bank on to fight fire and fire-related disasters.
Their number would be even fewer at different points in time, considering the annual maintenance works and unexpected snags in the event of which, water tender from one station is diverted to the station concerned. It’s more of a robbing Peter to pay Paul-like arrangement rather than a rational solution.
