In 5 yrs, Gzb saw 60% rise in fires

Ghaziabad: In 2019, the number of fire-related incidents in the city was recorded at 1,283 — a 1.5% jump from the previous year but a 64% rise from 2015, data from the fire department show. Incidents related to fire have seen a steady rise in Ghaziabad over the past five years. Compared to last year, just 784 cases were reported in 2015.
In 2020, between January 1 to June 30, as many as 411 incidents of fire have already been reported from the district — in which six persons and as many animals have lost their lives.
Fire department officials said that over 30% of incidents occurred in illegal factories while 20 percent of them were reported from hotels and restaurants. Around 25% incidents happened in highrises.
“Around 25% of all fire incidents are caused by garbage burning, while the rest can be attributed to short-circuit, gas-leak and other reasons. Officials found that 35% of incidents occurred due to short-circuits. As many as 42 people died between 2015 and 2019 in fire-related incidents, while 440 lives were saved during the same period,” an official said.
Also, 20 animals died during the fire incidents and 28 were saved by the fire department. In the fires that were reported between 2015 and 2018, assets worth Rs 1,020.16 crore were at risk, officials said. Of them, properties worth Rs 146 crore were destroyed.
Sunil Kumar Singh, chief fire officer, told TOI that the fire department had stopped calculating the worth of properties during the fire incidents from 2019 after the government order, which states that the fire officer’s primary duty is to douse the fire and save lives .
Singh added, “Most lives lost during the fire incidents happen because of no fire safety setup at the spots. In most of the cases, fire officers also found that fire fighting equipment was installed but not working.” “As many as 371 rescue calls were received by the fire department between 2015 and 2019. We saved 102 people and 251 animals,” Singh said.
“Between January 1 and June 30 this year, three people were saved while 15 animals were rescued,” Singh said.