Claiming that the number of fire incidents has increased to two-three times compared to last year ever since the second phase of odd-even scheme was kicked off on April 15, the Delhi Government said this “sudden” and “suspicious” rise in the number of fire incidents has contributed to high pollution levels in the city.
However, Fire Department data accessed by The Pioneer shows that there has been a constant trend of rising number of fire incidents this year in April, even before the odd-even scheme had kicked off.
Citing the Fire Department data from April 15 to 27, Transport Minister Gopal Rai said, “We got the data from fire brigade and some interesting trends have surfaced. We got the data from April 15 to April 17 for this year and last year. last year on April 15, fire incidents were reported at 47 places. But this year, it has increased to 113. On April 16, 51 cases were reported in 2015 while 104 cases have been reported this year… There is a similar trend every day from April 15 till April 27 when 142 fire incidents have been reported this year compared to 61 incidents last year.”
“Who is setting these fires or if they occur by themselves is another issue. But around three time increase in fire incidents across Delhi has impacted air quality,” Rai added.
Citing high temperature as main reasons for the increased incidents of fire in the summer months, a senior fire department official said when the temperature reaches 40 degree Celsius it is obvious that fire reports will be more frequent.
“Also, when the temperature goes beyond 42 degree Celsius, then rise in temperature by just one degree increases the frequency of fire calls by ten.”
Throughout the month, the number of fire cases has consistently been much higher compared to last year due to high temperatures. However, the difference has surely become stark as the month has progressed and temperatures increased.
For instance, two days before the odd-even scheme kicked off, 105 cases of fire were reported on April 13 followed by 115 cases on April 14. Only 45 and 42 cases were reported respectively for the same period last year.