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KARACHI, Aug 14: At least eight out of the city’s 20 fire stations have been rendered redundant as their fire tenders are out of order on account of their overdue repairs, whereas the rest of the ageing fleet is in less than perfect condition, sources in the fire department told Dawn.
Explaining the status of the stations, an official of the fire department, requesting anonymity, said that a station was considered closed when its fire tenders were out of order and could not respond to an emergency situation.
The Baldia Town fire station has been out of commission since January as its fire vehicle was given to the Site station following the tragic fire incident in which several firemen and officers died in a structural collapse in Site, the official said.
The Civic Centre fire station, earlier known as the Sabzi Mandi station, is also closed as its fire tender has been given to the Gulistan-i-Jauhar fire station.
Following the reallocation of the fire tender, the Civic Centre station was awarded another tender, which is not in a working condition but remains parked to show its presence, sources said.
Interestingly, despite its idle fire tender the Civic Centre fire station has a staff of 40 personnel, who have not been reallocated.
Fire tenders for ‘de-watering’
The fire tenders belonging to the Saddar and Nazimabad fire stations ran into trouble when they were sent on “de-watering operations” on Friday night following the recent downpour. They developed faults while carrying out the de-watering work and stood stranded at the Boating Basin.
They were finally towed by other vehicles and taken to the respective fire stations where they await repairs, sources said.
Citing the reason for the quick removal of the two fire tenders, sources said that the city nazim was supposed to visit the area, which could have aided in the vehicles’ hasty removal.
Officials in the fire department said that both the station officers of the Saddar and Nazimabad fire stations had expressed their apprehensions that fire tenders could develop faults while carrying out de-watering work.
The Central fire station, which is the head office where the chief fire officer sits, is equipped with two fire tenders.
One was already pending repairs while the fire-fighting vehicle which was still functioning developed a fault some time last Friday, thus rendering the nerve centre of the fire department incapable of sending out a vehicle for fire-fighting purposes.
Fire tenders belonging to the Orangi and Lyari fire stations also developed faults on Friday night when they were returning after a fire-fighting operation in Shershah. On their way back they developed faults in the rainwater.
The Malir fire station, which is supposed to cater to a large section of the population, is also technically closed as its fire tender is out of order. The needs of Malir are also looked after by the Landhi station.
Similarly, the recently set up Gulshan fire station, built beneath the Gulshan flyover, is also without a fire tender.
The Gulistan-i-Jauhar fire station, which has been recently shifted to its present located in Block 16, was for the last six years stationed at Safari Park, where a single fire tender remained parked.
The Jauhar station boasted a staff of 15 to 20, but recently nearly 30 personnel have been transferred to the station raising its strength to around 50, departmental sources said. Of the city’s 20 fire stations two, namely the Cattle Colony and Mauripur stations, open at 9am and close at 6pm because of lack of infrastructure.
The Cattle Colony fire station is housed in a container while the Mauripur station has a boundary wall but no roof or electricity.
The fire stations considered as operative are the Landhi, Korangi, Shah Faisal, New Karachi, Site, Lyari, Cattle Colony, Mauripur and Boulton Market fire stations.
These fire stations have ageing fleets which are prone to develop faults at any given time in absence of proper maintenance.
Interestingly, the project engineer who is supposed to supervise the maintenance related issues of these fire stations holds a civil engineering degree.
“Are we required to construct rooms or buildings or maintain the ageing fleet of fire tenders?” asked an irked fire officer referring to the project engineer who looks after the workshop.
Faults a ‘routine affair’
District Officer Civil Defence and Fire Brigade Ahsan Mirza said that faulty vehicles are a routine affair as “every day our vehicles are on the roads due to one reason or the other. The number of vehicles in and out of order dwindles and mounts on a daily basis.”
However, he admitted that proper maintenance is not being performed on the aging fleet of fire tenders.
The DO admitted that “these aging vehicles put to de-watering work are bound to develop faults.”
