Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Wednesday flagged off 12 motorcycle-mounted high-pressure water-mist-based fire suppression systems to be deployed in the event of a blaze in congested urban environments.
The fire tenders are equipped with high-power pumps that expel water in mist form and are ideal to fight fires in urban residential areas linked by labyrinthine and congested roads and by-lanes.
The machines use relatively less quantity of water compared to conventional fire engines, is environment friendly, and cause less damage at the scene of fire.
The water mist, actually very tiny droplets of water, has a higher evaporation rate and thus expedites the absorption of heat at a scene of fire. The engines will be deployed in select districts on the basis of the location-specific fire risk analysis the Fire and Rescue Services had recently conducted. Earlier, the department had inducted into service 12 mini fire tenders equipped with high-pressure hoses that spurt a narrow but potent jet of water. The machines are designed to fight various kinds of fires in urban and industrial areas. Five trained men will man the tenders.
