From AI-Powered Fire Fighting Measures To Hi-Tech Surveillance: How Authorities Doused Maha Kumbh Fire In 20 Minutes

Chief Fire Officer Pramod Sharma admitted that preventing fire to spread in vast area spread over 25 sectors was a daunting task.

Prayagraj:The fire that broke out on Sunday at Maha Kumbh 2025 could have been devastating had the high-tech fire fighting system not been in place to tackle such an exigency. The horrific fire was brought under control in just 20 minutes. The fire was seen through thermal imaging from the watch tower built in Maha Kumbh and the next minute, a fire vehicle, which reached there, was pressed into action in a swift action mode.

As many as 10 fire vehicles reached in the next five minutes. With the help of 100 personnel of Specially Trained Rescue Group (STRG) and 45 fire tenders of small and big size, the situation was controlled in quick time.

50 fire stations and 20 fire posts in place

Chief Fire Officer, Maha Kumbh, Pramod Sharma said that it is a very difficult task to prevent fire in the vast area spread over 25 sectors and 25 km radius only by relying on information. "All the temporary huts in Maha Lumbh are made of bamboo sticks, clothes and straw. When a fire breaks out, it spreads very fast. This is the reason why the fire department has established a total of 50 fire stations and 20 fire posts in the Mahakumbh area. Apart from this, there are also 80 fire bikers who always keep patrolling in the sectors divided in the fair area," Sharma said.

52 watch towers

As many as 52 watch towers have been installed to detect the fire in Mahakumbh. Firemen are asked to keep a hawk eye sitting on these watch towers. The fire in Mahakumbh was first seen from watch towers equipped with high-tech AI-based CCTV cameras. The fire personnel themselves informed the officials about this and a fire vehicle arrived the next minute.

In the next 10 minutes, 45 vehicles, big and small, reached the spot and cordoned off the area where the fire had broken out. The traffic department sealed the entire area so that the fire tenders could reach the site of the incident. This also proved beneficial and help could be provided on time. Teams of police, traffic police, fire department, NDRF and SDRF unitedly worked to control the fire. Everyone did their job well.

There are 351 different fire vehicles

Sharma also said there are 351 fire tenders in the fleet. These are equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Four Articulating Water Towers (AWT) have also been deployed which are equipped with advanced systems like video thermal imaging, he said and added video thermal imaging cameras are installed in it. It is used in case of fire in multi-storey buildings.

According to him, such measures are very helpful in controlling fire in high-rise buildings and tents as they help the firefighters in risky fire operations and also protect them. This system is also being used for the first time in Maha Kumbh. This fire vehicle was also used during Saturday's fire.

100 specially-trained rescue group deployed

Sharma said that 100 jawans of a specially trained rescue group have been deployed to deal with fire in Maha Kumbh. They are trained to deal with any kind of fire incident. Apart from this, 2000 fire personnel have also been divided sector-wise in Maha Kumbh, he said.

Magisterial inquiry ordered

There will be a magisterial inquiry into the massive fire in Sector 19 of Maha Kumbh Mela. For this, Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand has formed a team of ADM Administration and Sector Magistrate. Initial investigation so far has revealed that there can be only two reasons for the fire. First, leakage in the cylinder while cooking food. Second, short circuits are due to excessive load on electricity. After the fire broke out, there were explosions in the gas cylinders kept in the huts and the fire spread rapidly. A large amount of straw was also kept in the camp of Geeta Press.