Delhi firefighters stretched thin in record heat, surging fires

Record ID: 1826096

  • Title: Delhi firefighters stretched thin in record heat, surging fires
  • Date: 27th June 2024
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (JUNE 13, 2024) (REUTERS) VEHICLES MOVING IN TRAFFIC TOWARDS BILLBOARD WITH PORTRAIT OF INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI FIREFIGHTER PUTTING ON HELMET FIREFIGHTER WIPING SWEAT FROM FACE POINT-OF-VIEW SHOT FROM FIRE TRUCK DRIVING TOWARDS INCIDENT / FIRE TRUCK’S HORN BLARING / PEOPLE MAKING WAY FOR FIRE TRUCK LOCALS GATHERING ON TOP OF BUILDING WATCHING A
  • Embargoed: 11th July 2024 11:11
  • Keywords: India New Delhi electronic machines fire fire services firefighters firetruck heatwave hosepipes lives safety slums summer sun
  • Location: NEW DELHI, INDIA
  • City: NEW DELHI, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Disaster/Accidents,Fires
  • Reuters ID: LVA001312324062024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Fire engine sirens blasting through the streets of New Delhi has become a common daily affair in the summer of 2024, plagued by a sweltering heatwave.
    Calls reporting fires have nearly doubled in the city of 20 million, India government data shared with Reuters shows, especially from the old quarters crammed with shops and homes, webs of electrical and other wires hanging from poles.
    The punishing heat has sent sales of air conditioning and other cooling products soaring this summer. But such comforts come with their risks, particularly when not backed by proper wiring.
    More than 70% of all fires are of electrical origin, fire department officers say, blaming short circuits and ageing wiring in many shops and houses which are unable to cope with the increased load of 'round the clock' use of appliances.
    Experts say strained electrical systems raise the risk of overheating and electrical fires at a consumer's premises, especially when consumption exceeds the sanctioned load and the wiring's bearing capacity.
    The extreme heat pushed peak-power demand in Delhi to an all-time high of 8,656 megawatts on June 19, data from the State Load Dispatch Centre showed. Peak power demand, which never crossed 7,000 MW in May before, breached 8,000 MW four times this May.
    The federal weather office says this is the longest heatwave spell Delhi has seen and partly blames climate change for it.
    Indervir Singh says he has worked with the Delhi Fire Services for 32 years but cannot recall responding to as many fires as he has this summer.
    "We get at least 200-250 calls daily. As the calls are increasing, I have to attend several back-to-back calls,” said the grey-haired Singh, 54.
    A few hours later, Singh grabbed his gear and hauled himself up into a siren-blaring red fire truck, on the way shouting instructions on a microphone for vehicles ahead to clear the way.
    Their destination: the site of a fire in a clogged market area lined with textile shops and electrical wires dangling and crisscrossing overhead.
    In total, 34 fire trucks jostled for space in the narrow street carrying around 250 firemen, each taking turns to try to douse a fire in an old two-storey building that housed cloth shops packed to the brim.
    Shop workers and first responders said the fire could have started due to a short circuit, but with a portion of the building collapsing in the raging fire, the fire department has not been able to ascertain the cause.
    Fire calls in April and May soared to 6,330 in the city from 3,242 in the same period a year ago, according to data shared by the department.
    Weary firefighters described having to work in 'doubly' strenuous conditions - extreme heat and numerous fires. Most work for 24 hours at a stretch and rest the next day, while senior officers work 72 hours straight before resting for 24 hours.
    The department is bulking up. By August, 350 under-training firefighters will add to its existing force of around 1,800, he said. The department is also procuring smaller vehicles that can traverse congested Delhi roads and robots that can access hard to reach places.
    But for families in a slum area near the Yamuna river, where a fire burned down around 10 houses, it might be too late.
    (Production: Adnan Abidi, Tarun Kumar, Sunil Kataria)
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