Fire tenders on motorcycles to reduce response time

Two motorcycles with fire-fighting and rescue gadgets provided to the Coimbatore division of the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services were inducted on Friday. Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

Two fire tenders equipped with latest state-of-the-art fire-fighting and rescue gadgets on motorcycles inducted into the Coimbatore division are expected to negotiate traffic easily bringing down the response time in attending to fire and rescue calls, especially in narrow roads, lanes and by-lanes in old city areas.

Each motorcycle (bullet) and the fire-fighting equipment are worth Rs. 7 lakh and the vehicles will serve two purposes; to reach narrow lanes and to be used as advance vehicles to reach the spot even before fire tenders could reach the place.

These motorcycle fire tenders are expected to navigate through city traffic with ease, said Divisional Fire Officer N. Subramanian.

The two fire tenders were inducted formally on Friday in the presence of Mr. Subramanian, Additional Divisional Fire Officer P. Krishnamoorthy and 11 Station Fire Officers of Coimbatore Division.Explaining the salient features, Mr. Subramanian said that the fire tenders on motorcycles have a capacity of 10 litres of which 9.3 litres would be water and 700 ml will be Aquous Film Forming Foam.

The fire tenders of 10-litre capacity with four air bottles could throw water with foam with the pressure of 200 kg/cm3. There is also a first-aid kit in the vehicle.

The fire-tenders could help fight the fire for nearly 23 minutes and the water mist foam compound could reach out up to 12 meters or 40 ft. The fire tenders could be used to fight carbonatious fire, oil fire and electrical and metal fire. The tenders are portable and could be used in back bag style or lifted by hand with ease.The length of the hose pipe in the fire tender is 1 mm, the fire fighting gun weighs around 750 gram.