210 calls keep fire dept on their toes on Diwali
Delhiites kept the fire department personnel on their toes this Diwali. The control room of the fire department received a total of 210 calls on Wednesday in comparison to 60 on any normal day.
Delhiites kept the fire department personnel on their toes this Diwali. The control room of the fire department received a total of 210 calls on Wednesday in comparison to 60 on any normal day.
“Most of the calls were due to Diwali. Our vehicles were on stand-by mode at vulnerable areas and no major fire incident was reported. Seven persons were injured in a fire in outer Delhi’s Rohini area. No injuries were reported from other areas,” a senior fire department official said.
Most callers, like the one from Mayur Vihar, complained of fire in vehicles parked at roadside. The reason: firecrackers. No one was injured in the Mayur Vihar incident.
A fire department official said they received calls from almost all parts of the city. “Till 8pm we had received only 85 calls, but after that complaints simply kept pouring in. The remaining 125 calls were received in the next eight hours,” he said.
Last Diwali, the fire brigade had received 211 calls while the number was 267 in 2009. In 2008 and 2007, the figures were 270 and 150 respectively.
The fire brigade had deployed fire-tenders in markets that do not have fire stations nearby. Ninety-nine per cent of its staff was on duty on Diwali. The department had also prepared a list 12 localities vulnerable to fire accidents. The fire brigade had deployed fire-tenders in markets that do not have fire stations nearby. Ninety-nine per cent of its staff was on duty on Diwali.
As many as 1,000 fire-fighters, 150 fire-tenders along with 10 motorcycles were on call across the Capital. “Our hard work paid off as no casualties was reported from anywhere. We had cancelled our staffers’ leaves. We received distress calls till as late as 3am,” the officer further said.