The inordinate delay in the upgrading and expansion of the fire brigade headquarters, including the construction of a parking for fire engines, by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) may cause huge losses to the authority, as the current storage is improper and could damage fire fighting equipment.
“The authority’s plans to construct fire brigade sub-stations across the city to deal with emergency situations efficiently has not materialised yet either,” an official said. He said that due to the absence of these sub-stations, the CDA fire engines could not reach their destinations in time for an emergency. The official said the CDA had purchased 34 fire engines worth Rs 600 million in 2006 but had so far failed to construct a proper parking for the protection of these vehicles, which the existing fire brigade building did not have.
He said most of the new fire engines needed a proper environment to protect them from damage, but the CDA had made no arrangements in this regard. “They are treating the new vehicles like the old ones,” he added. The new vehicles imported by the civic body would soon bear the adverse consequences of this, resulting in millions of rupees in losses, if town planners failed to build a parking in the near future, he said. He said soon after purchasing the fire fighting vehicles, the CDA had made plans to upgrade the existing fire brigade building but had failed to give practical shape to the plan so far.
“It is the responsibility of the CDA to upgrade the old building of the fire department before the arrival of new vehicles,” he said. He disclosed that the some of the old vehicles were damaged due to the absence of a parking in the fire brigade directorate. The new vehicles include two fire ladders that operate up to a height of 68 metres, two snorkels, 10 water tanks with a 10,000 litre capacity, five mini tanks, two ambulances and four vans, he said. The official said the CDA had also planned to divide the city into four zones and establish sub-stations in various sectors, including H/14, I/9, G/11 and Hummak but had not yet done so.
CDA Public Relations Deputy Director Ramzan Sajid said the authority had finalised the plan for upgrading the fire brigade and the construction of sub-stations and would soon start work on it. However, he said increasing financial crisis in the CDA was one of the main reasons the implementation of the project kept getting delayed.