Functional hydrants could have contained Brahmapuram fire, says police report

Police report gives a damning picture of the lack of coordination between various agencies in the maintenance and operation of the firefighting system at the Brahmapuram dumping yard

Had the five hydrants at the Kochi Corporation’s waste dumping yard at Brahmapuram functioned, the fire outbreak on March 2 could have been easily suppressed, said District Police Chief (Kochi City) K. Sethu Raman in his preliminary report submitted to the Chief Secretary on Tuesday.

The report also throws light on the “uncertainty and confusion” over the installation of transformer and providing electrical connection to the bio-mining site leading to dysfunctional firefighting system.

“On the crucial day of fire occurrence, the fire hydrants were not working. Waste dumped into the river got into the pump and foot-valve of the motor, and hydrants could not be put use to extinguish the fire,” the report said.

The report also drew a damning picture of the lack of coordination between various agencies in the maintenance and operation of the firefighting system (at the dumping yard). Following the fire occurrence of March 5, 2021, the Director General of Fire Force had instructed the Fire and Rescue Services to conduct weekly inspection of the Brahmapuram dumping yard and ensure regular visit by safety beat officers. Since then, the fire force had submitted several reports alerting about repeated fires, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of preparedness.

“The PWD Town Planning Assistant Engineer says that a comprehensive plan for firefighting system was submitted before the competent authorities, and due to insufficient funds, only a limited firefighting system could be established. It is essential to establish an automatic water sprinkler enabled by Artificial Intelligence to secure all vulnerable spots in the plant at any point of time and situation,” the report observed.

The bio-mining company alleged that the Corporation had turned a blind eye to repeated applications for electrical connection. This in turn led to trading of charges between the two though within a few hours after the High Court direction, electrical connection would be established.

“They [the company] allege it has increased the cost of bio-mining and led to dysfunctional firefighting system. On the other hand, officials of Corporation say that as per clause 27 of the Request of Proposal, it is the responsibility of the bio-mining company to install transformer and get electricity connection,” read the report.