Fire safety drill conducted at HT house building

A fire safety drill at Hindustan Times in New Delhi, part of Fire Services Week, included demonstrations and evacuations, promoting fire safety awareness.

New Delhi: A fire safety drill was conducted at the Hindustan Times house building at Kasturba Gandhi Marg on Friday morning in collaboration with the Delhi Fire Services (DFS).

Delhi Fire Services organised a public awareness drill at HT House on KG Marg on Friday (Vipin Kumar/ HT)

The drill is a part of the Fire Services Week held annually from April 14 to April 20 in remembrance of the 1944 explosion at the Victoria dock in Mumbai.

Two fire tenders, one equipped with a water hose and other with a Turntable Ladder (TTL) were deployed. The fire alarm was triggered at around 11:00 am, following which the building was evacuated.

DFS officials, assistant divisional officer (ADO) Bhupender Prakash, station officer Navneet Kadyan, and fire man Ashish Malik demonstrated fire safety procedures.

“We had informed occupants in advance about the drill. We conduct fire evacuation drills every year to ensure that occupants are aware of proper procedures,” said N.C. Gautam, general manager fire and safety at the building.

DFS officials the department also carries out rescue operations. “A fire developes fully in two to five minutes, while it takes us around 15 to 20 minutes to reach. That means you are the first responder,” said Kadyan.

He explained the RACE plan – Rescue, Alarm, Contain, and Evacuation and Extinguishing and said the emergency number to contact DFS is 101.

The ADO explained different types of fires and methods to douse it. He said type A fires involves flammable solids which can be extinguished using water and fire extinguishers, type B involves flammable liquids which can be doused by cutting off the oxygen supply and type C involves flammable gases which can be doused using the same method.

Live demonstrations showed how to use a fire extinguisher and smother flames. The TTL was also used to demonstrate a rescue operation.

Fire safety demonstrations were also held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Saket, the Bal Bharti School and the CRPF Public School in Rohini Sector-14, and the L.K. International School in Bawana on Friday.

“The campaign will culminate in a Runathon on April 20, involving around 200 DFS personnel, to promote fire safety awareness and honour firefighters’ sacrifices. The event will be conducted in coordination with Delhi Police and other agencies,” said a DFS official.