Diwali turns dangerous; Capital reports 245 fire-related disastrous incidents alone on Diwali

While India at large enjoyed spreading smiles all along the festival of Diwali, the capital city alone faced more than 200 fire related disastrous incidents to which the Delhi Fire Service responded right.

The fire department recieved around 245 fire-related calls till midnight on Diwali and 96 more calls till 10 am on Monday. “We received 245 fire-related calls till midnight on Diwali and most of the calls were related to blaze in open areas”, Chief Fire Officer Atul Kumar said.

“However, there has been a decline in cases of fire triggered by burning or firecrackers”, the official said, adding they cannot provide the exact break-up of fire incidents caused due to crackers immediately as it needs to be analysed.

The use of firecrackers in Delhi on Diwali has come down over the years over concerns about pollution and due to restrictions imposed on their sale and usage. Yet people in several parts of the national capital like Jangpura, Lajpat Nagar, RK Puram, Malviya Nagar, Burari, Ashram burst firecrackers until at least midnight, after the 10 pm deadline.

The DFS had not only deployed 2,000 officers across the city to tackle emergencies on Diwali, but had also stationed 25 officials to man its control room to deal with any fire-related calls. Besides the 61 permanent fire stations in the Delhi, the department had also set up temporary stations at different locations across the city.