Introducing a new way to save water during fire extinguishing exercises,the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Tuesday exhibited the latest addition to their equipment: the water mist technique. Under this,steam,which is more apt at absorbing heat than normal water,is sprayed from a cylinder. Through this technique,a medium fire can be controlled with just 20 to 25 litres of water. If only water is used,the requirement is much more, said Jasbir Singh,NDMC Fire Officer. The civic body said it is prepared to fight any fire situation in its area. The NDMC is also training 200 employees for disaster management during a fire. On Tuesday,35 employees who had undergone training in a Nagpur institute demonstrated a drill of fighting fire in a high-rise building. Fire-fighters from the NDMC Fire department and the Delhi Fire Service also demonstrated the latest techniques in fire management. The drill was part of the annual Fire Safety Week of the NDMC. Several other techniques such as sliding by stretcher,chair-note,flying fox and building-to-building rescue were also demonstrated during the drill. An NDMC official said the civic body has also put sprinklers in NDCC Phase-II buildings,Talkatora Stadium and Shivaji Stadium among others. The sprinklers have heat sensors. Whenever,temperatures rise above 68 degrees,sprinklers will start automatically, he said. In his address,NDMC chairperson Parimal Rai said the fire personnel need more training and the response time also needs improvement. Asked about late arrival of fire tenders,Fire Officer Singh said,They get delayed because of the traffic not because we are slow. When a fire is reported from a place where we feel we may reach late,we send fire-fighters on a bike for preliminary management before the tender reach there.
