The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): A significant fire erupted at the ‘malkhana’ (yard) of the Wazirabad Police Training Centre in northeast Delhi, resulting in at least 300 vehicles being gutted, officials from the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) confirmed on Thursday. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported from the incident.
Divisional Officer DFS, Ashok Kumar Jaiswal, detailed the response to the emergency call received at 2.37 pm, noting that 14 fire engines were deployed to manage the blaze. He emphasized the ongoing efforts of the fire teams who continued working at the site to fully extinguish the fire.
The malkhana housed over 4,000 seized vehicles, covering an area of more than five acres. The fire originated in a concentrated pile of vehicles, prompting an immediate response from both fire crews and senior police officers who arrived to oversee the investigation.
Jaiswal suggested two potential causes for the blaze: accidental ignition from discarded cigarette or ‘bidi’ butts catching dry leaves and bushes on fire, or spontaneous combustion from vehicle batteries that might have sparked the incident.
He added that seat covers and vehicle paint can exacerbate the intensity of the fire, making the firefighting process more challenging. A total of 40 firefighters were dispatched to tackle the flames.
While the precise cause of the fire remains under investigation, forensic experts and crime scene teams have visited the location to gather evidence and further probe into the matter.
This incident follows another recent fire in east Delhi’s Madhu Vihar area, where 16 cars were destroyed at a civic authority-run parking lot, among more than 100 parked cars.
The DFS has reported a significant increase in fire-related emergencies, with 183 fire-related calls received on Wednesday alone, marking the highest number this year. This surge in incidents is attributed to the ongoing heatwave conditions in the capital.
Officials continue to monitor the situation and assess the full extent of the damage as the community begins to evaluate safety measures and preventive strategies to avert similar disasters in the future.