Izvestia: “Emergency Workers Let Off Some Steam”
In the wake of wildfire disasters, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin inspects rescue equipment being used by the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies, and Disaster Relief.
The government is to spend 43 billion roubles on modern fire fighting equipment, extending federal spending from 30% to 80% by 2015. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stressed that domestic contractors should be the primary suppliers of such equipment. Yesterday, he visited the Civil Defence Academy in Novogorsk near Moscow and inspected the latest models available.
He surveyed the current equipment, which has been christened with exotic-sounding names like the Kolibri (Hummingbird), the Panther, the Tuman (Fog), and the Purga (Blizzard). All of them were designed to protect the environment; in spite of this, visitors were dismayed that Russia still suffers from devastating fires.
A rescue worker demonstrated the innovative EFA fire-fighting robot. "This self-contained system can operate in any part of the world. Its infrared sensor detects any nearby fire and activates a foam pump," an Emergencies Ministry officer commented. To show how quick his response is someone burns a lighter in front of him. The robot detects it immediately and swings into action, switching on its pump but ejecting no foam.
Other robots can either detect and extinguish tunnel fires or conduct clean-up operations. The Prime Minister watched the latter cut down charred trees and lift concrete slabs.
The Tuman (Fog) and the Purga (Blizzard) lived up to their names. The Tuman is a huge steam generator for effectively putting out fires. "The system turns water into steam for smothering fires. Since there is no oxygen there is no fire," Emergencies Ministry officers told Putin, who put his hands into the fog. When he took them out, they were wet.
Putin was told that the Purga foam gun has a range of over 100 metres, but he did not ask for a demonstration.
The 34.5-tonne Austrian-made Panther airport fire engine has a maximum speed of 120 kph. Apart from the model on view at Novogorsk, only one such fire engine is in operation – currently at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. One quickly assumes that other airports cannot afford the million euro price tag.
It is unclear whether the prime minister was impressed with the Panther, but in deference to Russian-made models, he subsequently hopped into the huge KAMAZ fire engine.
At the end of his guided tour, Putin put on a device resembling digital 3D goggles. The fan-like Kolibri, an unmanned air vehicle that fits into a backpack and can climb to an altitude of 800 metres, then took off and relayed images into the device. The prime minister took off the spectacles and nodded in satisfaction.
"This is rather impressive. But such equipment accounts for only 30% of Russian rescue teams' inventory," he said.
Putin noted that technical-equipment standards had to be improved greatly in the wake of the summer wildfire crisis and that large-scale re-equipment was inevitable.
The Emergencies Ministry's material-technical base will be upgraded under a state programme for 2011-2015, allocating 43 billion roubles to its development. Notably, 16.8 billion roubles will be spent on new fire engines; another 12.1 billion will be used to buy brand new fire-fighting aircraft. The ministry's rescue teams will receive new equipment amounting to 6.3 billion roubles, and only three billion roubles will be spent on new communications-and-control systems.
"As a result, new equipment should account for 80% of the entire inventory," Putin said. Moreover, he assured his confidence that the programme will facilitate expanded domestic production.
By Yulia Shestopyorova
