Over 300 calls from related to minor fire incidents were received by authorities from across the national capital during Diwali festivities, in which 163 people sustained burn injuries as reported from the Delhi Government hospitals.
The Delhi Fire Department received 243 calls till 12 pm on Sunday while another 107 calls were attended to between midnight and morning, an official said. A senior Delhi fire services officer said, “One child and a woman received burn injuries when a roadside firecracker stall caught fire around 3 pm at west Delhi’s Mohan Garden area on Sunday,” a senior Delhi fire services officer said.
Forty calls were received during 8 pm to 10 pm, when the department receives maximum fire calls as festivities peak in the form of incessant fireworks and lamps.
Besides the 59 permanent fire stations, the fire services had set up temporary stations at 22 locations across the city from where maximum fire calls were received during last year’s Diwali.
The authorities had also increased the number of phone lines to the control room in view of the increased number of fire calls on Diwali.
Apart from the burn cases, there was also rise in the number of people affected by allergy-related complications.
Doctors said people from various age groups, sustained burn injuries from bursting of crackers. At lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital (lNJP) about 80 burn cases were reported. “Out of these, 78 were minor burn injuries reported. They were administered first aid and sent home. Two persons had suffered burns on their faces, so they were admitted,” said lNJP Medical Superintendent JC Passey.
In Ram Manohar lohia (RMl) Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH), 57 and 26 burn cases were respectively reported, officials said. “All cases were minor injuries. The Government and RMl hospital had created awareness through campaigns, so this may have led to lesser number of cases,” a senior official at RMl Hospital said.