A fire hydrant system has been put in place at the Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple to deal with fire. The system has been installed following a fire audit. Water for the operation of the new system would be drawn from the ‘Chandrapushkarani’ using a motor and would pass through pipelines to the hose reel from where it would be sprayed on the fire.
Temple authorities said the new fire fighting system has been installed at three places within the huge temple complex - near Karthigai Gopuram; near Keezhapadi in the ‘moolasthana praharam’; and near the ‘chandrapushkarani.’ It has been installed at a cost of ₹ 3.5 lakh using temple funds, said the authorities. A 5HP motor has been installed to draw water.
Trials were conducted on Thursday. Water could be sprayed up to 80 feet through the hose reel. The temple authorities have planned to invite the Fire and Rescue Services Department officials for inspecting the new system and offer suggestions.
The new system was in addition to the fire extinguishers installed at vantage points in the temple complex - 43 fire extinguishers are in place apart from buckets containing sand and water to douse fire, said an official. Small fires could be doused using fire extinguishers and buckets filled with sand and water. The fire hydrant system would be required to combat a major fire. The need for the fire hydrant system arose following the outbreak of a major fire at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai in February 2018. The Srirangam temple witnessed a fire accident in March last year in a ‘prasadam’ stall close to Arya Padaal Vaasal, destroying the stall completely.
Published - July 01, 2021 09:34 pm IST
