Hyderabad's fire brigade is going down in flames

The brigade is operating at 10% capacity, with little equipment and even fewer funds

HYDERABAD: When it comes to battling blazes, Hyderabad's many localities, especially areas with high-rise buildings, are beyond the reach of the under-resourced fire brigade.

The rapid proliferation of up to 10-storey buildings and presence of many rabbit warren areas, predominantly in downtown Hyderabad, often puts the brigade to daunting trials.

"We are working at 10 per cent of our [ideal] capacity," revealed Hyderabad Municipal Corporation [HMC] Chief Fire Officer Muhammad Younis Qureshi.

A man, Abdul Aziz, died on Monday in a fire in his house in Shahi Bazaar area of Hyderabad, said the police. Meanwhile, three fire incidents occurred in City and Latifabad talukas within a span of 30 minutes on Monday.

For Qureshi, a range of problems from the ill-planned urban expansion, to water supply and deficiency of the required strength of stations, staff, equipment and vehicles act as impediments to effective firefighting.



"If there is a fire on the fifth floor of a building, our snorkel will not be able to reach that height," Qureshi divulged. HMC's only snorkel, which can reach a height of 50-feet, was locally built through the alteration of a crane.

At the central fire station in Latifabad, two tenders are under repair while funds are required for the overhaul of two others. Photo: Adeel Ahmed/ Sindh Express

The district has five fire stations in Fakir Ka Pirh, Market, Paretabad, Latifabad and Rani Bagh areas. Two of the former were established before Partition. The Paretabad and Latifabad stations were built by 1975. The one at Rani Bagh, which falls under Qasimabad Municipal Committee unlike the four others that belong to HMC, was set up in the district's central park and zoo several years later.

"There has been no addition in the number of fire stations in almost four decades," Qureshi bewailed. Work on a new fire station in Hali Road area, which is proximate to Hyderabad SITE and other industrial units, began nearly five years ago. But it is far from operational as the appointment of staff is awaiting an official sanction, along with the purchase of equipment and vehicles. Besides this, completion of the building's remaining work is required.

The second largest district of Sindh with an estimated population of around three million has only seven fire tenders in working condition, including two each at the Latifabad and Rani Bagh stations and one each at the remaining three.



At the central fire station in Latifabad, two tenders are under repair while funds are required for the overhaul of two others.

The most recent addition of two tenders was in 2013 thanks to former Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan.

A thankless job

There are a total of 96 firemen of BPS-3, 12 head firemen of BPS-5, four supervisors of BPS-7 and 27 drivers of BPS-5, besides the clerical staff, in the HMC.

"Between 15 and 20 of the firemen have been inducted from among the naib qasid [peons] and other contractual staff of the HMC," a fireman, who requested anonymity, said.

"The last 10 to 15 years were very painful," he complained, referring to appointments of firemen on a political basis. According to him, the staff was not only unskilled but also reluctant to perform their duties.

Unlike other professions, where new employees possess prior qualifications or acquire training of the relevant fields, the firemen are taught firefighting skills and provided training after their appointment. They are sent to the schools in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad where the training sessions last from 15 to 90 days.



"In contrast to other government servants, we always endanger our lives in the duty. But neither are our basic pay scales satisfactory nor are the salaries and other benefits," bemoaned a head firemen, Syed Hashim Ali, whose retirement is only three years away. "We are appointed on BPS-3 and retire on BPS-5."

Another fireman, who also did not want to be identified, said they are on duty for 12 hours every day.

Slumping hydrants

In 1975, the brigade had access to 11 hydrants for filling its tenders and bowsers. Four decades later, the number has slumped to just one and that too comes with a restriction of filling after 6pm.



"We are allowed to fill the fire tenders only after 6pm from the hydrant in Latifabad Unit 6," Qureshi confirmed.

He blamed the Water and Sanitation Agency [WASA] for shutting down one hydrant after another under the pretext of water theft.

"They can control theft in other ways. Squeezing water supply from the fire brigade will only increase the risk of disaster," he observed.

Meanwhile, HMC Mayor Syed Tayyab Hussain told The Express Tribune he will take up this matter with WASA during a meeting this week. "I will ask them to at least start the hydrant on Thandi Sarak Road [a partly central location of Hyderabad]."

Qureshi said he has written to the mayor to pass an order to ban the use of tenders for watering green belts and for water supply, acknowledging that both these practices exist.

Finding a solution

Qureshi submitted a set of recommendations to the mayor last month, underlining necessary measures to prevent fires and enable the brigade to effectively combat blazes.



"The city is spreading in an unplanned way. Katchi abadis [unplanned settlements] are also appearing in every other area. There are many streets where only a motorcycle can go and some where even it can't," he outlined.

He proposed that permission for the construction of a multi-storey building should only be given on a 100-foot-wide road, with at least a 40-foot-wide back street. Compliance with fire safety rules, construction of alternate staircases and installation of firefighting systems should be enforced in high-rise buildings.

He strongly suggested closure of liquefied petroleum gas shops in residential and commercial areas. "Mini petrol pumps have also surfaced in many places. These illegal businesses need to be closed."

The fire brigade's emergency number, 16, is rarely accessed for fire reports. The stations are mostly called by the 15 emergency police, local police station or deputy commissioners' office to report an incident. Therefore, Qureshi asked for publicising the number.

Development Work: HMC wants Rs10b

Keeping fire extinguishers at all commercial centres, marriage halls, filling stations, cinemas and other such locations, were among the other recommendations.

Qureshi demanded at least four new fire stations be established on an emergency basis in Hyderabad. Latifabad, SITE, Kohsar, Hala Naka and Rajputana Hospital, four corners of the district, have been proposed for the new stations.

The mayor said that after assuming office in 2016, he requested the provincial government to provide funds or new equipment and tenders to HMC's brigade several times.

HMC will procure equipment and vehicles as soon as it gets funds of Rs500 million, which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced for the corporation, he said.