Mumbai, Mar 25 (IANS): In a rare operation, the Mumbai Fire Brigade has been deployed to fight the coronavirus outbreak in order to keep the country's commercial capital safe, an official said.

Since Tuesday, the firemen armed with chemical-laden equipment have been spraying many hospitals and markets coming under the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).

"It's essentially an emergency service available anytime for public help. It has been deployed this time for the medical emergency of the coronavirus pandemic," said an official.

Accordingly, teams of firemen fanned out to various crowded civic hospitals in the city and suburbs on Tuesday and thoroughly sprayed the premises.

They followed it up with the major civic fruit and vegetable markets at Null Bazar, Grant Road, Byculla, Dadar, Ghatkopar, Khar, Andheri, Borivali and Mulund, with most wearing desolate looks in view of the state and national lockouts declared in the past two days.

"In their normal course of duties, they promptly attend to fires, drowning, accidents, disasters like building crashes, floods or terror strikes, besides saving birds and animals trapped in precarious locations. This time, our men are helping in a different situation to help combat coronavirus and ensure the people of the city remain healthy," said the official.

The spraying operations will continue over the next few days as Maharashtra notched 112 positive cases and four deaths, all in Mumbai.