Defunct hydrants spark fears of fire
KOCHI: With summer peaking, city residents are growing more concerned about mitigating fire outbreaks. Many areas of the city are already struggling with major water scarcity, and this reduces the chances of water being supplied promptly to douse unexpected fires. To add to the worry, fire hydrants placed at prime spots in the city like Broadway are now defunct owing to road widening and pipe laying projects taking place in these areas.
Merchants fear that the narrow lanes in the city are more at risk because fire engines would find it harder to reach these areas, slowing down rescue operations. They said major shopping areas in the city have very few safety precautions as compared to other cities in Kerala.
“Broadway is one of the busiest areas in Kochi, and yet we have very few firefighting options in case of an outbreak. Shops here sell plastic, paper and clothes — all these would burn really fast. Many long-term shop owners claim the situation was better earlier. But with the number of shops increasing, we don’t even know where the water distribution lines or fire hydrants are,” said Rashid of Fab and Home.
No immediate plans
The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) said that they have sent a proposal to reinstate fire hydrants across the city but the approval is pending. Fire hydrants, connected to a series of pipes, provide instant water supply to fire engines. These are constructed to douse fire in busy commercial zones where fire engines cannot reach fast. The public health wing of the KWA also confirmed there are no immediate plans to reinstate the hydrants that were dismantled over a decade ago.
“We have more distribution lines than pumping lines. The pressure needed for fire hydrants to operate will not be available on normal distribution lines. Currently, we have a supply point at Perumanoor pump house, which can distribute water in tanker lorries to emergency spots. There are also options to use the water from the canals or other sources in case of a fire outbreak,” said a fire safety official.
Cochin Smart Mission Limited officials said though they are converting Shanmugham road into a Smart Road, they have not taken up the renovation of the parallel roads like Broadway and water hydrants are not part of their project.
Call for help!
According to the statistics with the fire and rescue department, in 2021 alone, 2,738 incident calls and 1,031 fire calls were attended in the district. Seven lives were lost in fire outbreaks alone.
“Industrial and commercial zones are crucial points in the events of a fire outbreak. In Kochi, there are no fire hydrants like in SM Street, Kozhikode. The ones that existed in Broadway became defunct after road renovation works,” said district fire officer Jojy A S.
“We have already put in a request to the corporation to reinstate them. The upcoming market will be having better facilities to fight fire outbreaks,” Jojy said.
- Firefighting in Ernakulam (2021)
- Total fire calls 1,031
- Lives lost in fire - 7