New firefighting vehicles, water bowsers reach Karachi port

KARACHI: Under an initiative of the federal government, 50 new fire tenders and two water bowsers have reached Karachi port from China which will need two days to be unloaded from the vessel, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

As many as 50 fire tenders and two water tankers have reached Karachi port today under an initiative from the federal government.

The firefighting vehicles have been purchased with the cost of Rs1.4 billion under the financial package announced by the federal government for the metropolis.

Sources told ARY News that Prime Minister Imran Khan is likely to visit Karachi in mid-January. The firefighting vehicles will be handed over to the Sindh government during the expected visit of the premier in Karachi.

The inclusion of new fire brigade vehicles will improve the capacity of firefighting services in the metropolis as only 14 fire tenders in Karachi are operational out of 44 vehicles.

Earlier on January 2, the Sindh Infrastructure and Development Company Limited (SIDCL) had reportedly received a letter from the Karachi port authorities, confirming the arrival of the vessel carrying 50 fire tenders and two water tankers.

It is pertinent to mention here that state-of-the-art firefighting vehicles were provided by a Chinese company and are different from traditional fire tenders that can only spray water.

A demonstration of vehicle functions was conducted during the send-off ceremony, showing a high-pressure water gun extinguishing the fire.

The new fire truck products will greatly enhance the Karachi city government’s fire-fighting emergency rescue level and provide strong hardware support for the safety of the citizens.