Bidding for Islamabad fire fighting equipment on April 8

The bidding to procure new state-of-the-art fire fighting equipment at a cost of Rs 300 million would be held on Friday (April 8), sources said. Five national and international firms involved in making fire-extinguishing equipment have been pre-qualified and contract is likely to be awarded on Friday, sources added.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) directorate of municipal administration (DMA) would get 35 new vehicles including fire tenders, aerial ladders and snorkels along with over 386 additional fire-fighters to sufficiently handle fire-related emergencies in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Successful bidder would import all these vehicles during the current year.
DMA officials were of the view that though procurement of all these fire fighting equipment was impossible for the authority within the approved grant, it would sufficiently meet the demand of Islamabad fire brigade.
He said the department has outdated equipment, which was not adequate to handle January 2001 fire on top floors of the Shaheed-e-Millat secretariat.
Responding to a question, the official said establishment of four fire sub-stations in major areas of Islamabad is also part of the plan. He said the department has planned to divide the city in four zones with separate sub-offices in sectors H-14, I-9, G-9 and Hummak Model Town to meet any crisis within minimum possible time.
Plots have been acquired in G-9 and I-9 for the purpose and construction would start in a couple of months.
Currently, DMA's fire brigade fleet consists of only nine vehicles and 192 staff, most of them approaching retiring age.
The poor show of the capital's fire department came into limelight few years ago when the famous Shaheed-e-Millat secretariat in Blue area caught fire and everything inside the building turned into ashes despite existence of fire brigade that appeared to be helpless due to lack of modern equipment.
At present only one aerial ladder is available with the DMA, which can reach up to maximum 46 meters height. It hardly helps out to extinguish fire in a 10-storied building while the capital city has many buildings above this height.
Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who is visiting Islamabad from Tuesday will plant a tree at Shaker Pariyan on Wednesday.
According to CDA officials, the Chinese Premier will also inaugurate Pak-China Friendship Center in sector I-8 of the capital on the same day.