News of fire breaking out in various industrial and non-industrial areas of several metro cities have become more frequent in recent times.
Though none of them was reported to be as severe or fatal as the Kamala Mills fire in December 2017, a recent fire at Delhi’s Malviya Nagar has shocked us all.
A warehouse at Khirki Extension, which is a crowded residential part of Malviya Nagar caught fire at around 5 p.m on Tuesday. It has finally been put off after nearly 20 hours with help from the IAF.
Massive fire in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar#ITVideo
Full story: https://t.co/lQUeBLq5De pic.twitter.com/iIplMnAYb9— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) May 30, 2018
About 80 fire engines were deployed and firemen were at work all night to contain the fire from spreading to the neighbouring buildings which included a school.
Massive #fire in south Delhi. Traced it from IIT to Chirag Delhi flyover. #Delhi pic.twitter.com/rEI85vwcf7
— Niti Chatterjee (@NitiChatterjee) May 29, 2018
According to India Today, a message was sent to the headquarter of the Western Air Command to help contain the fire.
Following the request, an MI 17 chopper reached the spot to contain the raging fire with a Bambi bucket.
#SavingLives : Indian Air Force launches a #MLH class helicopter for Fire Fighting Operations with Bambi Buckets from AFS Palam to contain fire at #MalviyaNagar , New Delhi, Today. @SpokespersonMoD @nsitharamanoffc @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/4QAa2uIgXP
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) May 30, 2018
Bambi buckets are specialised buckets which are suspended on a cable from a chopper/helicopter to carry water for aerial fire management.
Bambi Bucket op was carried out for the first time in an urban establishment.
This was the first time the Bambi ops was done in an urban situation wherein the nitty gritties of drop r very precise owing to high rises around. Wing Commander Pradeep Bhola of the Mighty Armours was successful in dousing the fire. #Malviyanagar #Delhi pic.twitter.com/bVAHQKUaGS
— Poonam Pandey (@pandeypoonam20) May 30, 2018
An NDTV report said that a truck loaded with rubber material parked near the godown caught fire, which spread in no time.
An official said that plastic and raw material stored in the factory added fuel to the fire. Neighbouring buildings, school and a gym were all evacuated for safety purposes. One fireman got injured but apart from them, no injuries or fatalities have been reported.
The Delhi fire in Malviya Nagar has been classified as the “highest category” blaze in the national capital in recent times.