Water crisis hits fire service as firemen made to wait longer to fill tankers

The fire tankers at Korukkupet refill at IOC while those from Old Washermenpet go to Royapuram.
For representational purposes (Photo| BP Deepu/EPS)
For representational purposes (Photo| BP Deepu/EPS)

CHENNAI: After offices, schools and hospitals, it’s fire and rescue services department which is struggling for water. Despite it being an essential and emergency service, firemen say they are made to wait longer than usual at metro water pumping stations to fill the fire tankers.   

“We wait in queues with 20 to 30 metro water tankers,” says a fireman from Korukkupet station. “No special preference is given to fire tankers which provide emergency service.” Only one of the two allotted tankers is operational at the Korukkupet station.

"One tanker has been dysfunctional for months now and the other one, which is a 4500-litre capacity tanker, has to be full all the time. Most times, the pumping points are full, making us wait between 30 minutes and one hour,’’ says the fireman, adding that their tankers have to be refilled even if the water level drops by just 10 per cent.

With the Tondiarpet station being under renovation for years now, Korukkupet, along with Washermenpet, has the added responsibility of attending to any emergencies in the stretch between Royapuram and Ennore.

An official at the Old Washermenpet station admits that waiting time has increased this summer. ‘’We are expected to be ready throughout the day. Although we fill water only after a rescue operation, we may never know when we will be called for another rescue.”

The fire tankers at Korukkupet refill at IOC while those from Old Washermenpet go to Royapuram. “In Royapuram, the roads are narrow and filling takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour. In worst cases, we get water delivered at station.” 

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