After Malkhana fires, Delhi Police turn to ‘fire fighting balls’

Each police station in the eight districts is getting at least 15 fire extinguishing balls for malkhanas, server rooms, CCTV monitoring rooms and electrical panels

After recent fire incidents at police station malkhanas (storerooms) and a spike in blazes across the city amid soaring temperatures, Delhi Police have started procuring “ball-shaped fire extinguishers” for police stations as well as patrolling and emergency response vans to enable quick firefighting, senior officers aware of the move said on Tuesday.

The spherical devices, weighing between 1.3 kg and 1.7 kg, contain mono ammonium phosphate-based dry powder, a foam shell, internal drive, installation brackets and a PVC covering, said Delhi Police. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

In the first phase, the devices are being installed in police stations across eight districts — east, northeast, Shahdara, central, north, northwest, outer-north and Rohini — falling under Zone-1 of the city police. Stations in the remaining seven districts under Zone-2 will also get the devices soon, officers said.

Each police station in the eight districts is getting at least 15 fire extinguishing balls for malkhanas, server rooms, CCTV monitoring rooms and electrical panels. Two to three such devices are also being kept in each patrol and emergency response van (ERV), officers said.

“The fire extinguishing balls are being mounted on dedicated stands in high-risk areas of police stations to contain fires as soon as they break out. The balls deployed in police vans will help personnel quickly douse fires in houses, shops and other establishments. Police personnel are often the first responders and reach the spot before firefighters. The idea is to suppress a fire at the initial stage itself,” said Devesh Chandra Srivastva, special commissioner of police (law and order), Zone-1.

The spherical devices, weighing between 1.3 kg and 1.7 kg, contain mono ammonium phosphate-based dry powder, a foam shell, internal drive, installation brackets and a PVC covering, said an officer who is part of the procurement committee.

“Each ball has a lead wire tied around it. The in-built drive activates when the wire comes in contact with fire or detects temperatures above 70 degrees Celsius. The drive rapidly expands inside the foam shell, causing the ball to burst and spray dry powder outwards, blanketing and suffocating the fire,” the officer said.

The balls can either function automatically or be manually thrown, tossed or rolled towards the base of a fire. “The device self-activates on contact with flames and can extinguish a fire spread across three to four cubic metres,” said Shrishti Pandey, additional deputy commissioner of police (east).

“The spherical fire extinguishing balls we are purchasing are Made in India products with ISI certification. They are cost-effective, easy and safe to operate, and have a lifespan of five years. The best part is that personnel do not require any specialised training to use them,” Pandey added.

Fire experts, however, cautioned that while the devices are effective in containing fires initially, the blaze could reignite if cooling operations are not carried out immediately afterwards.

“The dry chemical powder sprayed during the explosion of the ball, along with the pressure waves generated by the blast, can temporarily suppress a fire. But it may relapse on contact with oxygen if cooling operations are not launched simultaneously. Even so, it is an effective device to contain a blaze in its initial stages,” said former Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg.

Officials said the devices are expected to strengthen Delhi Police’s emergency response capability and reduce fire-related damage before dedicated firefighting teams reach the spot.