News
Kandy fire turns focus on Colombo
View(s):The dramatic rescue of a woman and three children from a burning building in Kandy highlighted several glaring shortcomings regarding fire safety. Main among them was the difficulty the Kandy Fire Brigade’s vehicles had in reaching the site.
The situation is just as bad, if not worse, in Colombo. Senior officials at the Colombo Fire Brigade lamented that they face severe difficulties on a daily basis in reaching locations in the city in the event of a fire. “If a fire were to occur during the end of school-time or evening rush hour, it is very difficult for our engines to navigate through the city traffic to reach the spot,” a senior fire brigade official observed.
Meanwhile, some streets in the city are one-way and require vehicles to take a long detour. Though police do their best to help fire brigade vehicles to go through such roads, it is still difficult for large fire engines to move in these areas given the risk of an accident.
In some places, roads are separated by a fence for a considerable distance, with no opening in between for vehicles to cross over to the other side. This means that fire fighting vehicles will sometimes have to go past the location of the fire and turn back. In some parts of Colombo, narrow streets pose another problem. In certain places, it is virtually impossible for a fire truck to get through. In other areas, pavement hawkers sell their wares almost on the road making it difficult to navigate in an emergency.
