Delhi firefighters get hi-tech suits

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s firefighters have been provided with 1,358 “fire proximity suits” that are much safer than the ones donned by them until now, the Delhi Fire Services said Thursday.

The “full body” suits were handed over to the firefighters by Delhi home minister Satyendra Jain who also flagged off 28 new vehicles for firefighters, GC Mishra, director, Delhi Fire Services, said.

In the last two years, five firefighters have lost their lives and scores of others were injured while controlling fire incidents in the city. Atul Garg, chief fire officer, that the new suits are of international standard and are similar to those worn by firefighters in the US.

“The suits used by us until now cost about ₹1,000 and didn’t protect our men from flames. The new ones cost around ₹55,000 and will ensure complete protection even from sudden bursts of flames and cylinder blasts,” Garg said.

Jain also announced that there would be no dearth of funds for the fire department and the government is in the process of procuring robotic arms, drones, remote controlled firefighting machines and other specialised equipment. Robotic arms will help firefighters access burning areas which at present, is a difficult task. The remote controlled firefighting machines will help douse flames in inaccessible parts of a burning structure, Garg explained.