Fire dept deploys drone to map, douse blaze in Bawana factory

According to the DFS chief, the drone and its related equipment were purchased for around ₹12 lakh in 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) on Tuesday used a drone to assess the spread and magnitude of a fire that broke out at a plastic granules factory in the Bawana industrial area, thus becoming the first fire department in the country to do so in a firefighting operation, DFS chief Atul Garg said, adding that no one was injured in the fire that started at the plastics factory in the morning.

Only one drone was used in the firefighting operations and that too for sizing up the fire. (Representative image)

Police said they received the call at 8am regarding the fire at the factory 5 in Bawana.

“The fire later engulfed all three floors of the factory building. It also spread to the adjoining building that is also owned by the same businessman,” said Sachin Kumar Singhal, additional deputy commissioner of police (outer-north.

Only one drone was used in the firefighting operations and that too for sizing up the fire and accordingly deploying firefighters, fire tenders and other resources, said Garg.

“Our firefighters accordingly sprayed water and prevented the fire from spreading. It helped us cut the firefighting time through better coordination and utilisation of resources. The DFS on Tuesday became the first fire department in the country to use a drone in firefighting operations,” said Garg.

“The paperwork was only completed recently,” said Garg.