Delhi: Fire breaks out in plastic granules godown, robot helps douse blaze

A massive fire broke out in a godown stocked with plastic granules in northwest Delhi's Badli area on Sunday, officials said.

A robot was used "extensively" to douse the fire, they said, adding that no one was injured in the incident.

"We received information at 2.18 am about the fire in the Badli area behind the Rohini jail. The fire broke out in a plastic granules godown," said Delhi Fire Services Director Atul Garg.

"This time, we have extensively used a robot to control the blaze. We had no idea what was inside the premises. It was a big fire and the godown had been sealed for the last two years. With the help of the robot, we sprayed water inside and our men were not exposed to the fire," he said.

According to the officials, 36 fire tenders were pressed into service and the blaze was put out by 2.10 pm.

The cooling operation is underway and eight fire tenders are working at the spot, the officials said.

In a video shared by the fire department, thick plumes of smoke are seen rising from the building while a red robot is spraying water on it to douse the blaze.

In May, the Delhi government had inducted two remote-controlled robots into the city's firefighting fleet to navigate narrow lanes, reach spaces inaccessible to humans and perform tasks too risky for people.

These robots are heat, smoke and fire-resistant and can be operated remotely from a distance of 300 metres.

Till May 19 this year, Delhi had witnessed over 2,000 fire-related incidents which claimed the lives of 42 people and injured 117 others.