BMC to upgrade fire alarm systems in city

The Rs 80 crore automated system will cut time it takes to reach areas of distress

The BMC is set to upgrade the fire alarm systems in the city, in a bid to reduce time taken by the fire brigades to get to areas where a fire may have broken out.
    The civic body will introduce the 'wireless addressable emergency communication system' with centralised monitoring, which are equipped to detect fire and relay such information to nearest fire stations, besides sending a message to the main control room at Byculla.
    "We have received the proposal from Electronic Corporation India Ltd. We will have the system in place shortly, as soon as all the formalities are completed. The system will be installed at the cost of Rs 80 crore," said Kishore Gajbhiye, additional municipal commissioner.
    He explained that at present, information about fire are first relayed to the main control room, who in turn, inform the closest fire station. However, the new system will automatically relay such messages simultaneously to the nearest fire station as well as the main control room at Byculla.
    Installation of the system will occur in a systematic manner. In the first phase, BMC will install the systems at all ward offices, BMC hospitals and auditoriums in the city. In the second phase, the devices will be connected to local fire stations or base stations. In the third stage, the base stations will be connected to a centralised monitoring system at the main fire control room at Byculla. In the last stage, all the stations will be connected to the main disaster management cell or BMC headquarters.
    "The system will be especially effective during public holidays. As they are automated, they can detect and send messages on their own. We will also ask residential complexes, educational institutions, multiplexes, malls and private hospitals to install them," said Gajbhiye.

The main control room at Byculla will receive the automated messages from the system