Fire department proposes, MCG disposes

Gurgaon is a city of high-rises, but MCG has no allocation for a 101-m hydraulic ladder that could reach fires at a height of more than 42 m.

In its budget for fiscal year 2018-2019, the MCG has not proposed any allocation for such a ladder. In fact, the Haryana directorate of supplies and disposal has been turning down the fire department’s proposal for such a ladder over the last 10 years.

According to fire department officials, there are a total of 1,169 buildings over 15 metres tall in Gurgaon. More than 500 of them are at a height in excess of 50 metres. With a solitary hydraulic ladder that can only reach a height of 42 metres (up to the 14th floor of a building), the fire department is ill-equipped to deal with a blaze in high-rises.

So, the fire department has to rely on a private fire department, which has a hydraulic ladder capable of reaching a height of 90m, for blazes in buildings more than 42 m tall.

But why this reluctance — why this oversight?

According to fire department officials, this lack of intent could be attributed to a decision taken by the state government in March 2017 of transferring the fire department from the MCG to a newly created body called the Directorate of Fire Service.

“Last year, the state government announced that the process of forming a separate body, integrating all fire stations in the state. This process of transfer and integration is still under way,” explained fire safety officer IS Kashyap.

Thus, the MCG has not allocated any funds to the fire department for making such purchases, he added.

However, if the transfer situation continues to take time be delayed, the MCG will allocate funds for upgrading equipment and infrastructure in its next budget, confirmed a senior MCG official.

Kashyap, however, said that the transfer process shouldn’t keep the MCG from “catering to the needs of the fire department”.

MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav did not comment on the issue.