Fire tenders to be on the ready at 23 spots in Delhi day before Diwali

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) has planned to deploy fire tenders at 23 locations across the city on Diwali eve (Wednesday) and Diwali (Thursday) in order to ensure that fire incidents are addressed quickly and no serious mishaps occur during festivities, senior fire officials said on Monday.
Apart from the fire trucks (tenders), the fire department will also deploy motorcycle-borne firefighters equipped with portable fire extinguishers, also known as “water mist backpacks” at nine different locations on the night of Diwali for rapid firefighting action in congested neighbourhoods that have narrow lanes – where larger fire tenders cannot reach.
Two wireless remote-controlled “mini robots” will also be pressed into service in emergencies, while seven quick reaction team (QRT) vans will be positioned at seven different locations in the city to tackle fire mishaps, the officers cited above said.
Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg said the locations where fire tenders, motorcycles, and QRT vans will be positioned from 5pm to midnight on Diwali eve and Diwali were identified as “areas vulnerable to fire incidents” based on the fire calls received by the fire control room on previous years’ Diwali.
“On average, the fire control room receives 60 calls every day. But on Diwali eve and Diwali, the number of calls increases at least three-fold because people decorate their houses with oil lamps, candles, and decorative lights, which increase power load, sometimes leading to short circuits. Keeping in mind our past experiences, we have decided to deploy our fire tenders, motorcycles fitted with portable fire extinguishers, and QRTs in vulnerable areas,” said Garg.
He added that workforce and telephone lines in the control room will also be increased on the two days to ensure no emergency calls are missed.
According to DFS data, the fire control room received 208 emergency calls on last year’s Diwali, and the number was 201 in 2022. In 2021, there were 152 such calls on Diwali. There were four deaths in 2021, two in 2022 and one in 2023 on Diwali but none of them were due to fire mishaps. Ten people were injured in fire incidents in 2023 while 11 people suffered injuries in similar incidents in 2022. The number of people injured in fire incidents on Diwali in 2021 was one, the DFS data shows.
Among the 23 locations where fire tenders will be deployed on Diwali eve and Diwali this year are outside Tilak Nagar police station, Lajpat Nagar Central market, Lal Kuan Chowk, Lahori Gate and Nangloi police stations, South Extension, Mehrauli police station, Ghitorni Metro station, Rani Bagh and Gandhi Nagar markets, New Ashok Nagar and Alipur police stations, Yamuna Vihar, and Mundka Metro station. Firefighters on motorcycles will be stationed at Nehru Place, Bhikaji Cama Place, Rani Jhansi Road, Novelty Cinema, Roop Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Geeta Colony, Jama Masjid and Sadar Bazar. Similarly, QRT vans will be deployed at Connaught Circus, Safdarjung, Shankar Road, Laxmi Nagar, Janakpuri, Paiwalan in Jama Masjid, and CBD Shahdara, DFS said.