Delhi reports lowest fire-related emergency calls in 15 years this Diwali

The Delhi Fire Service received 152 fire-related calls on Diwali, which was less than 25 per cent from last year and the lowest in the last 15 years.

No major fire incident or casualty was reported, Director of Delhi Fire Service, Atul Garg, said, on Friday.

According to the fire department, fire-related calls go up usually on Diwali mainly due to bursting of firecrackers, not taking adequate precautions when lighting earthen lamps or candles and not checking for loose wires while putting up decoration lights and overloaded extension boards causing short-circuit.

"This is a very positive sign that fire calls have reduced on the day of Diwali this year. This is the first time that we have recorded only 152 calls on Diwali, which is the lowest in last 15 years on the day of festival," Garg said.

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"This is also because of public awareness. There were less calls related to fire-cracker bursting and people also behaved responsibly and followed all the safety precautions as suggested while celebrating the festival be it while lighting diyas or decorating houses and buildings with lights," he said.

According to data shared by the fire department, out of the total 152 calls, 117 calls were fire-related incidents including four which were suspected due to crackers while other calls were related to short-circuit, fire in garbage and due to lighting of earthen lamps.

Besides the 117 fire-related calls, there were 10 calls seeking assistance for animal rescue, 12 for bird rescue, one related to house collapse, seven other rescue related operations and two other cases seeking assistance in connection with two road accidents, the data stated.

"There has been no major fire-related incident this Diwali and no casualty was reported due to fire. In total, we received 152 calls which is less than 25 per cent from last year," Garg added.

The DFS control room usually responds to maximum calls on Diwali, and fire-fighters need to be on their toes to deal with emergencies, they said.

Maximum of these fire-related calls were received on Friday evening during peak hours, he said.

According to the DSF, most of the fire-related calls were of minor category. There was a fire reported from outer Delhi's Mangolpuri area on Thursday night.

A fire broke out in the factory in Mangolpuri at 10.14 pm and eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot, a senior fire official said, adding tiles stored in the basement, artificial flowers stored on the first floor and shoe manufacturing material kept on the second floor of the factory caught fire.

No one was injured in the process, said a senior fire official.

The fire-fighting operations ended at 3 am, he said, adding the cause of fire is being ascertained.

Another fire broke out at the basement of a godown in Nilothi Extension at around 1 pm on Thursday and eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

Crockery items and disposable cups stored in the basement of the godown caught fire but no one was injured in the incident and the fire was doused off by 3.30 pm on Thursday, the fire officials said.

Fire crackers were burst in the city in a blatant disregard to the government's ban on it.

The fire department had responded to 205 fire-related calls on Diwali last year, officials said.

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According to fire officials, around 3,000 firefighters were on duty for the last two days and Delhi Fire Service teams were deployed in over 30 specific locations across the capital to tackle any incident.

Fire tenders were deployed at 22 locations across the national capital including Bara Tooti Chowk, Tilak Nagar, Lajpat Nagar (Central Market), Lal Kuan Chowk, Lahori Gate, Nangloi, South Extension, Sonia Vihar, Mehrauli, Ghitorni metro station, among others.

Motorcycles fitted with fire-fighting equipments were also deployed in the streets and narrow lanes at six other locations, including Ambedkar Nagar, Kapashera, Chandni Chowk, Sabji Mandi, Ghanta Ghar, Paharganj, Shiela Cinema and Shadipur depot, a senior fire official said.

Another set of fire-fighting vehicles were also at deployed in the lanes of another six locations, including Connaught Circus, Hari Nagar, Geeta Colony, J Road and Paschim Vihar, he said.

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