High-tech response: Robot, 4 fire engines contain midnight fire in Rangareddy

RANGAREDDY (Telangana): An operation in Bandlaguda Jagir highlighted a significant shift in how urban fires are being managed in Telangana, specifically through the use of specialised technology to protect human firefighters.

In a ‘high-tech’ intervention, a midnight fire that broke out at a cloth store in Bandlaguda Jagir in Rangareddy district was brought under control by firefighters using four fire engines and a robot after nearly three hours of firefighting operations, with no injuries or casualties reported.

The fire broke out at a G+3 floor building housing a cloth store, opposite Ammavari Temple, with the blaze engulfing the ground plus two upper floors. Assistant District Fire Officer, Madhapur, Govardhan Reddy said the control room received the distress call at 2.58 am, following which four vehicles along with a robot were immediately dispatched to the site.

“We received a call to the control room at 2.58 in the morning. Immediately, about four vehicles, along with a robot, went there and controlled the fire after firefighting for almost three hours. Fire has been doused completely. There are no injuries and no casualties,” Reddy said.

These robots are increasingly used in India for specific tactical reasons: Cloth stores are notorious for “backdrafts” and thick, toxic smoke from synthetic fabrics. The robot can enter these high-heat zones where it might be too dangerous for humans.

Controlled remotely, the robot can manoeuvre into tight spaces within the building to douse flames at the source without the risk of structural collapse affecting a human crew. This particular unit was dispatched from the Madhapur fire station, which serves as a tech-forward hub for the Hyderabad/Rangareddy region. (ANI)