While citizens face hardships to get potable water in the ongoing peak summer season, thousands of litres of water had to be used in firefighting operations. It is pertinent to note there have been several fire incidents in the State, especially in the forest areas. Fighting fire is important and so is the availability of potable water. Hence a solution needs to be arrived at so that potable water supplied by the PWD is not used for firefighting operations as all the potable water goes down the drain, quite literally. Rainwater can be used as a water source for fighting fires wherein huge amount of water is necessary. It would be prudent for fire stations in the state to introduce rainwater harvesting within their premises. The water stored in large tanks during the monsoon season can be used to subdue the fires. Water from the rivers could also be used to fight the fire by filling the fire brigades with water from this source. It is learnt that the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services uses treated water from the sewerage plant to douse major fires.
