The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) will be purchasing modern firefighting robots at an estimated cost of Rs 3.05 crore. The brigade had acquired a firefighting robot in 2018, but it had shorter battery life and other glitches. These robots will be of European standards with advanced technology.
The robots can be remote-controlled and are equipped with a thermal imaging camera to identify the number of people trapped. It can assist even in zero visibility conditions. In a major fire that occurred in a Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) building in Bandra in 2019, the department had deployed the robot.
"The earlier robot was helpful for the brigade both in terms of dousing the fire as well as sending information from the accident site. But its battery duration was just four hours, which was not sufficient for larger operations. So, it becomes difficult after the battery gets exhausted. The issue will be addressed now and the new robots will have swappable batteries that can be recharged easily and can last for eight hours," a senior fire brigade official said.However, the discussions to buy the new robots have just started and will take some time to reach the machines in the city, the officials further added.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has allotted Rs 365 crore to the brigade in its latest budget to upgrade its facilities and existing infrastructure and impart basic fire and life safety training to the city residents. This is 55 percent more than what was allotted to the department in 2021. Out of the total money allotted, Rs 300 crore has been earmarked for technical upgradation of machinery including the robots, and Rs 65 crore will be used for the construction of new fire stations.