Deepavali: firefighters in Delhi receive record number of calls over 12 hours

Delhi Fire Services received 318 distress calls on Deepavali night, attributing the surge to extensive firecracker use.

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received 318 distress calls on Deepavali night, the highest in the past 13 years, said a senior official, attributing the surge to the extensive use of firecrackers. Of the total calls, 280 were fire-related, of which three incidents — two in Sagarpur and one in Daryaganj — turned out to be fatal.

Most of the distress calls were received between 5 p.m. on October 31 and 5 a.m. on November 1, the official also said.

DFS chief Atul Garg said, “We were fully prepared to tackle any and every situation, having deployed firefighting units at key locations. We had cancelled the leaves and day offs of all our personnel and were ready to help everyone across the city.”

A Delhi Police spokesperson said, “Several teams were constituted to ensure the implementation of the ban. Additional forces were deployed to carry out proactive patrolling in hotspots and seizure of firecrackers.”

However, members of several residents’ welfare associations said the ban was flouted with impunity.

Sonali Chandra, a C.R. Park resident, said she had a verbal spat on the area’s Whatsapp group with a few neighbours who were bursting firecrackers all through the night. “The police station is barely 500 metres away from our apartment, yet when some neighbours were bursting crackers throughout the night, no action was taken,” she added.