When offices in Delhi located in different districts of the Capital buzzed with last-minute preparations for ‘Diwali’ — office staff put up garlands of flowers and decorative lights and checked lists for gift boxes to be distributed — firefighters at the fire stations were taking stock of their equipment.
Delhi Fire Service (DFS) has activated all the resources at its command to combat fire incidents across the city. Fire incidents during bursting of firecrackers are quite common and fire engines keep running here and there to prevent damages. Fire officials say they have kept water engines, skylifts and firefighters in readiness to respond to distress calls.
DFS had received 204 calls in 2017 - lower than 243 calls in 2016. Though none of these were major incidents involving casualties, the national Capital’s 1,300-odd firefighters were kept on their toes to attend an average of one call at every five minutes.
According DFS Chief Fire Officer, Atul Garg, besides the 59 permanent fire stations in the national capital, the department has set up temporary stations at different locations across the city.
“On November 6, water tenders will be stationed from 5 pm to midnight at 12 prominent marketplace locations —Tilak Nagar, Azad Market Chowk, Rani Bagh Market, Central Market in Lajpat Nagar, Gandhi Nagar Market, Ghitorni Metro Station, Sangam Vihar, Mundka Metro Station and Chhatarpur near Tivoli Garden,” said the fire chief.
On November 7, water tenders will be stationed at the places mentioned above and some other busy locations.
Nine motorycles with firefighting equipment would be stationed at nine places including Ambdekar Nagar Police Station, Kapashera, Shadipur Depot, Chandni Chowk, among other place to douse fires on the streets and narrow lanes.
Eleven multi-purpose vehicles (Innova and Xylo cars) will be deployed in areas like Hari Nagar, Geeta Colony, etc., to handle fire mishaps in narrow lanes and streets.
The leaves of all department personnel have been cancelled on November 6 and 7 and the officers have been asked to ensure vehicles are fully repaired and equipped to handle emergencies
As per records, DFS has a strength of nearly 2400 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 3,600. Of these, around 400 handle administrative work, leaving another 2000 for on-the-ground business. More than 1,900 personnel will be available for fire fighting during Deepawali celebrations.
The department has 200 fire tenders, including at least 10 per cent or 20 fire trucks, are reserved for sensitive locations like Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Supreme Court and the Delhi Secretariat, leaving about 180 fire tenders for the rest of the national capital.
According to fire station protocol, at least two trucks must attend one fire call. This meant that the department faced a shortage of fire trucks last Diwali as calls started pouring in.
Delhi receives high number of fire calls during Deepawali, largely because the festival happens to coincide with a season when the air is tinder-dry, which makes it easier for things to catch fire. Other metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are relatively humid in the Diwali season because of their proximity to the coast.
Garg said that the firecrackers that cause the highest number of fire incidents are rockets and diyas (lamps).
“They often get diverted from the assumed trajectory and end up entering building premises. Curtains catching fire from lamps lit during Diwali are common too,” said Garg.
Though the fire department has geared up to deal with any situation, several Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) are also urging residents in their societies to follow safety measures during festival.
“To avoid fire incidents on Deepawali, we have urged residents to follow safety measures while burning crackers and lighting diyas. We had a Diwali get together on Sunday and main issues during festival which can cause fire were discussed,” said A N Mehta, member RWA, Chattarpur Enclave Phase-2.
“Last year my neighbours bought a huge amount of crackers and left it next to their gate just a few inches away from a lit diya, the firecrackers ended up blasting. Luckily there were no casualties, but I believe its people’s carelessness that leads to cases of fire during Diwali,” said Meghashri Gautam, a resident of East Delhi.