Over 180 fire-related incidents in Delhi on Diwali

New Delhi, Nov 4: As Delhi celebrated Diwali, fire fighters were on their toes attending to over 180 calls related to fire incidents from across the city. Fire brigade received calls from almost all parts of the city but no major fire or casualty was reported.

"We received a total of 184 calls from 8 PM last night till now," a senior fire brigade official said. While the city received 95 calls between 8 PM yesterday till midnight, the official said, 89 calls were received after that. "There was no major fire incident or any casualty. All were minor incidents," the official said.

The fire department received 75 calls between 6 PM to 10 PM. Fire department received 177 calls between October 2 midnight to midnight last night," said another fire official. There were just 24 calls between 6 PM and 8 PM this year which is said to be the peak hour for people bursting crackers. Last year, fire brigade officials had received 50-55 calls around during this two-hour span while in 2010 they had got 210 calls in the said period. Fire tenders were deployed in markets which do not have fire stations nearby.

"Ninety-nine per cent of our personnel were on duty on Diwali day," said the official.

PTI