Mumbai will soon become India’s first city to have robots for firefighting

MUMBAI: Mumbai is ready to get its first firefighting robot at the cost of Rs 92 lakh. The robot, built using Chinese technology, will have the capacity to go through narrow alleys and be programmed to help during biochemical disasters. The inbuilt thermal cameras in robo will be able to see through both smoke and darkness. The body of the robot is made up of aluminum sheets which can withstand the temperature of up to 700 centigrade. Essentially, it will protect firemen from harm in such cases. The robot will help firefighters to remotely guide it to the source of fire. The fire brigade plans to use the robot especially in congested areas and if the fire is caused by a chemical leakage.

The idea of the firefighting robot was floated back in December 2015. In the 2018-19 Budget, the civic body has issued a tender for this expensive robot to upgrade the fire brigade. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) fire department has proposed a contractor to provide it with one robot on a trial basis. The proposal has been tabled before the BMC’s standing committee, who will take a decision on Friday, 21^st Sep. After the decision, BMC will buy it within six months.

“The robot will carry the water hose to the source of fire where there is risk to firemen. It can be operated from a safe distance. The company has provided around 800 robots to various agencies in China,” said R.A. Choudhary, Deputy Chief Fire Officer (Technical).

The firefighting robot is a pilot project and further robots will be procured depending on its success. BMC is also purchasing a Tata S Supermint vehicle to carry this robot. There will be a hydraulic lift attached to it. The BMC also plans to buy fire-mapping drones.