New Delhi: In less than four minutes, an automatic system detected a fire in a moving car inside the Dwarka Expressway tunnel, activated and suppressed the blaze.At 11 am on Monday, the video incident detection system (VIDS) in the tunnel detected the fire. Officials said in just 47 seconds the control room alerted the fire response team and what followed was an activation of the tunnel fire mode. The high-pressure water mist system automatically started and suppressed the fire. The tunnel’s integrated fire safety system, comprising overhead sprinklers, heat sensors and a deluge fire suppression mechanism started working within seconds. The system prevented the fire from spreading to nearby vehicles.“The system reduced the intensity of the blaze and lowered the temperature to enable emergency responders to reach the spot,” said an NHAI official.The fire briefly disrupted traffic.Police also got a PCR call regarding the fire at Kapashera police station. A team went to the spot and found the vehicle engulfed in flames. The driver told police that the fire had broken out due to overheating.Videos of the incident, which were widely circulated on social media, showed that vehicles around the burning car came to a standstill.Police later said there was no loss of life. After the fire was brought under control, NHAI officials removed the charred vehicle from the tunnel, following which traffic movement returned to normal.Experts in tunnel engineering said all such new projects have fixed fire fighting systems in place.
