Seven major fire incidents, 214 fire-related emergency calls, including 24 linked to firecrackers, and injuries to five firefighters kept Delhi’s emergency services on their toes during Diwali, even as police registered more than 200 cases against people for bursting crackers beyond the permitted hours. The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) received 257 emergency calls on November 8, a 4.5 per cent decline from the previous year.
The police cases were registered for violations of the Supreme Court’s directions permitting only certified green firecrackers between 6 am and 7 am and 8 pm and 10 pm on November 7 and 8. West Delhi accounted for the highest number, with 62 cases, followed by more than 50 in Outer North Delhi and over 35 in the North district. A complete ban on firecracker bursting came into force in the capital on Monday.
The fire department’s data showed that fire-related emergencies constituted 83.3 per cent of the total calls. Of the 214 fire calls, 40 involved rubbish fires and 24 were directly linked to firecrackers. The remaining 43 calls related to animal and bird rescues, human rescues, a house collapse, a road accident, special jobs and standby deployments.
The total number of calls this Diwali was 12 fewer than the 269 calls recorded in 2025. Compared to 2024, when the department received 318 calls, the number declined by 61, registering a drop of around 19.2 per cent.
The year-wise data showed that the number of Diwali-related emergency calls has fluctuated considerably over the past 15 years. The department recorded 257 calls in 2026, against 269 in 2025, 318 in 2024, 208 in 2023, 201 in 2022 and 152 in 2021. In 2020, the department received 205 calls, while the corresponding figures were 245 in 2019, 271 in 2018, 204 in 2017, 243 in 2016, 290 in 2015, 211 in 2014, 177 in 2013 and 184 in 2012.
The hourly breakup of the 2026 data showed that the maximum number of emergency calls came between 8 pm and 10 pm, when 85 calls were received. This accounted for around 33.1 per cent of the day’s total calls.
The department received 61 calls between 10 pm and midnight, accounting for another 23.7 per cent of the total. Together, the two-hour periods between 8 pm and midnight accounted for 146 calls, or approximately 56.8 per cent of all emergency calls received on Diwali.
Between 6 pm and 8 pm, the department received 32 calls, while 13 calls were recorded between 4 pm and 6 pm. The 2 pm to 4 pm period registered 14 calls.
During the morning, 36 calls were received between 7 am and 2 pm, while 16 calls came in between midnight and 7 am.
Of the 214 fire-related calls, 84 were received between 8 pm and 10 pm, followed by 60 between 10 pm and midnight. This means nearly 67.3 per cent of the total fire-related calls came during these four hours, according to the data.
The department recorded 24 cracker-related fire calls during the day. Of these, 10 were received between 10 pm and midnight, eight between 8 pm and 10 pm, three between midnight and 7 am, two between 7 am and 2 pm and one between 4 pm and 6 pm. No cracker-related fire calls were recorded between 2 pm and 4 pm or between 6 pm and 8 pm.
The department also attended 17 animal rescue calls, accounting for around 6.6 per cent of the total, while seven bird rescue calls constituted 2.7 per cent.
Five human rescue calls were recorded, making up around 1.9 per cent of the total. There was also one house collapse call and one road accident call.
The report also listed injuries to five Delhi Fire Service personnel, including burn injuries, a fractured hand, cuts caused by glass, a leg injury and a knee injury.
Among the major incidents, a medium-category fire was reported at around 5.25 pm at two adjacent factories on the Shamshan Ghat Wali Road in Nangli Sakrawati.
The department also recorded several major fire incidents categorised as Make-4. These included a factory fire in Narela Industrial Area at around 8.50 pm, a fire at an NDMC godown beneath Safdarjung Flyover near Safdarjung Airport at around 9.32 pm and a fire at a banquet hall in Pooth Kalan shortly after midnight, read the document shared by the DFS.
Other Make-04 incidents included a house fire at Saraswati Apartment in IP Extension’s Madhu Vihar at around 1 am, a factory fire at New Krishna School in Prakash Vihar, Karawal Nagar, at around 2.11 am and a shop fire at Chota Bazar in Shahdara’s Main Market at around 3 am.