The BMC has restored its oldest turntable ladder (a firefighting vehicle used to scale heights in case of fires in tall buildings), and will induct it in Mumbai’s fleet of firefighting vehicles. This turntable ladder was manufactured in 1937 by Leyland Motors Ltd in England (later Ashok Leyland) and was inducted in Mumbai Fire Brigade’s fleet on September 24, 1941. It was used in controlling the fire that broke out on a cargo ship at the Mumbai docks in 1944.

About the ladder

At the time of its induction, this ladder was considered state-of-the-art for its ability to scale the height of tall buildings, warehouses, and elevated locations in the port area to douse fires. This ladder is made entirely of iron and can be rotated manually. Over time, the turntable ladder vehicle became inoperable and was preserved as a historical artefact at the Mumbai Fire Brigade headquarters at Byculla.