Sparks are flying over the fire brigade’s extravagance in acquiring state-of-the-art apparatus when, sources say, the department should has more imperative issues to deal with. In the last one year, the force has spent more than Rs 32 crore in purchasing firefighting vehicles from foreign companies. According to the sources, the trappings the department has obtained from Hytrans Fire System – a company from The Netherlands – are useful in dousing forest fires and are not of much use in a city.

Raising the stakes! Fire brigade officials and personnel seen inspecting the Hytrans Fire System unit purchased recently by the department for Rs 4.23 crore. Pic/Krunal Gosavi