The system can be helpful for school buses and long-distance sleeper buses

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Monday demonstrated the Fire Detection and Suppression System (FDSS) that it has developed for passenger buses.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Mister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari saw the functioning of the system, which can detect a fire in less than 30 seconds. It then suppresses the fire in just 60 seconds, significantly reducing the risk to life and property.

Demonstrations were given on water mist-based FDSS for passenger compartment and aerosol-based FDSS for engine fire.

Developed by the DRDO's Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) in Delhi, the FDSS has a water tank of 80 litre capacity and a 6.8 kg nitrogen cylinder pressurized to 200 bar installed at an appropriate location in the bus. There is a network of tubing with 16 atomizers inside the passenger compartment, said an official statement by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

For the engine, the system comprises of aerosol generator with which the fire suppression can be achieved within 5 seconds of the system activation.

According to the statement, CFEES has unique competency in the areas of fire risk assessment, fire suppression using different extinguishing mediums, modelling and simulation. They have developed systems for battle tanks, ships and submarines.

The active fire protection system has been developed by CFEES as a defence spin-off technology for providing a solution to the fire incidents in passenger buses. Fires are of the highest concern when it comes to vehicles like school buses and the sleeper coaches used for long distance travel.

As of now date, only the engine fire is regulated for fire safety, the statement pointed out.

Defence Minister Singh also unveiled a model of the Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) Missile installed inside the DRDO headquarters premises in the presence of Gadkari and Secretary DDR&D & Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy.

The country’s first-ever Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Missile Test, ‘Mission Shakti’, was conducted successfully on March 27, 2019 from the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha. It destroyed a fast-moving Indian orbiting target satellite in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with pinpoint accuracy. The DRDO had described it as a highly complex mission, conducted at extremely high speed with remarkable precision.

The successful conduct of Mission Shakti made India the fourth nation in the world with the capability to defend its assets in outer space.