The Delhi fire department witnessed an uptick in the number of fire incidents reported on Diwali after it received 201 calls, 32 per cent higher than the previous year, according to officials, news agency PTI reported.
As per official records, the department had received 152 calls in 2021, 205 in 2020, 245 in 2019, 271 in 2018, 204 in 2017, 243 in 2016 and 290 in 2015, reported PTI.
In one of the fire incidents that was reported on Monday, a garment factory in Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar area caught fire in the evening with four people inside. While they were rescued from the third floor, a fireman was left injured during the course of the operation.
There was also an incident of a fire that was reported in a restaurant in Delhi’s Prashant Vihar area at around 8:30 pm, officials told PTI. The fire was brought under control after fire tenders immediately reached the spot. As a precaution, fire tenders were placed at 22 locations across the city on Sunday and Monday from 5 pm to 12 am.
Taking note of past years’ fire incident reports during Diwali, the department had strategically placed mobile fire tenders at 50 locations across the city.
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People in Delhi flouted the ban and burst high-decibel fire-crackers on Diwali, with the frequency increasing as the evening progressed. Last week, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had warned against bursting crackers in the national capital, saying that offenders would be sent to six months in jail along with a fine of Rs 200.