Advance planning by the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) and quick reaction by firefighters in the national Capital prevented any major mishap on Thursday night. Fire Department received 220 calls related to minor fires on Diwali night.
“220 fire-related incidents were reported on Diwali. However, all incidents were minor. We had made elaborate arrangements to tackle such situations,” an official of the Fire Department said on Friday, adding, “No major casualty was reported. Our men were working all night.” DFS officials were busy compiling data to find out how many fire tenders were used on Diwali.
According to DFS, the span between 6 pm and 8 pm is said to be the peak hour for people bursting crackers and this is when 20-25 calls were received. last year, fire brigade officials had responded to 75 calls in the duration. In 2012, they had received 50-55 calls during this span, while in 2010 they had got a whopping 210 calls. The Fire Department had deployed fire tenders at 20 vulnerable locations in the city, including congested areas and key marketplaces in addition to its 56 fire stations.
Around 1,800 personnel of the DFS out of its total strength of 3,000 were on duty while 175 to 180 fire engines along with 25-30 vehicles to provide logistics were also operational, said a senior official.
In another fire reported from the Trans-Yamuna area, a fire broke out in a slum cluster in Shastri Park area of North-East Delhi, gutting several jhuggis on Friday. However, no casualty has been reported so far.
“We received a call about a fire at 10.19 am. As many as 14 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames,” an official of the Fire Department said. The firefighters managed to tame the blaze by around 11.25 am and the situation was brought under control, he said, adding, heavy smoke filled the area.
“No casualties have been reported. The reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained,” the official said. According to initial reports, over 50 jhuggis were gutted in the incident. Plastic and wood kept in an open yard in the area fanned the flames.
Fire breaks out in Gzb furniture market; four shops gutted
Four shops were gutted when a fire broke out in a furniture market in Indirapuram area in Ghaziabad during Diwali celebrations, fire officials said on Friday. Though there was no casualty, property worth lakhs of rupees was damaged in the fire which broke out on Thursday night in Abhay Khand, they said. Fire officials said that some adjacent flat owners were bursting firecrackers on their terrace on Diwali when a firework fell on the bamboo rooftop of one of the shops. Eight fire tenders from across the city were pressed into service and it took them an hour-and-a-half to douse the flames, a fire official said. Eyewitnesses said the fire started at a furniture shop in which various wooden and plastic furnishings were kept covered in polythene sheets. This fire then spread to the neighbouring shops and some flats. Several goods, including wooden and plastic chairs, sofas, beds, plywood, boards, office furniture and cupboards, were destroyed in the blaze.