Fire fighting systems in shambles

The fire fighting systems in city is in a dilapidated condition and needed further improvement to deal with fire mishaps in the city. The city has only 20 fire brigade stations located in almost every town of the city having the total capacity of 45 fire tenders which means probably 2 fire tenders for each fire brigade station besides 4 bousers of 22-wheelers and 3 snorkels of 18 wheelers, Business Recorder learnt.
In the budget 2011-12, the defunct City District Government Karachi (CDGK) earmarked Rs 1.3 billion for municipal services, out of which Rs 70.5 million was allocated for repairing and maintenance of fire machinery and purchasing gadgets for fire department. Sources in the fire department told Business Recorder that 20 out of 45 fire tenders are non-operational while 2 out of 3 snorkels need immediate repairing, as these are also not operating perfectly.
There is financial crunch due to which some projects have come to a halt, said Senior Director Health Dr Shoukat Zaman, adding that as soon as the fire department gets some funds all problems would be resolved. However, Dr Zaman claimed neither any fire tender nor any snorkel is in non-operational condition adding that there were only 4 fire tenders for the city around six years ago. "The performance of the fire department is improving with every passing day and all equipment are operational and working perfectly now we have three bousers and three snorkels," he said.
Director Health accepted that the fire department needed to replace some old machinery and increase number of fire stations. "There is always room for improvement in all sectors. The department will replace some outdated machinery shortly in the fire department in order to compete with international system of fire fighting," Dr Zaman said. The fire department for the convenience of the citizens has started a helpline '16' to deal with fire incidents.