BENGALURU: Bengaluru is all set to get a one-man system for rescue operations during fire breakouts and other emergencies. To be soon rolled out by the Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services, it is a part of its overall ‘quick and lean’ response approach to deal with such emergencies. The initiative consists of a two-wheeler (a Royal Enfield Bullet) and state-of-the-art equipment such as a fire extinguishing foam cylinder that is many times effective than water, called CAFS or Compressed Air Foam System.
Johnson Lopez, the managing director of Futuristik Control Networks Pvt Ltd that is involved in the research and development of the one-man system in association with the State Fire and Emergency Services department, says, “This foam is something that we have developed ourselves. During tests, we have found that a 10-litre container with foam can extinguish fire and flames within 10 to 12 seconds. On the other hand, we used nearly 2,000-plus litres of water to extinguish a similar kind of fire in one-and-a-half minutes.”
The mobile one-man system will also have a rescue and life-saving equipment. It will be equipped with oxygen bottles, blankets, a battery-operated chainsaw for when people are stuck inside a car or when a tree falls on them. “It will also have a multipurpose rescue jack that can be operated by only one person. It can lift a vehicle someone is stuck. It is a hand-operated device that is cost effective and easy to use. The bike will be mounted with a diamond metal cutter and a first aid box,” adds Lopez.
Lopez says he has been researching in the field of fire and emergency services for the past 18 years. “In case of these tools for the one man mounted system, we have done a major study of the need for such tools by consulting many experts in the field. The container on which all these requirements will be mounted is well balanced and the bike can go at speed of 80kms without any hindrance,” adds Lopez. A fire-fighting bike can enter narrow lanes that are otherwise inaccessible to fire trucks.
What Will The Fire Sub-Station Have?
A sub-station will have at least four firemen, a medium-sized water tanker that is half the size of the existing water tanker trucks and a one of a kind mobile fire-fighting initiative — solo fireman on a two-wheeler.