3,000 fire fighters to be on Diwali duty in Delhi

New Delhi, October 31

On Diwali, around 3,000 firefighters will be on duty for two days and Delhi Fire Service teams will be deployed in over 30 specific locations across the capital to tackle any incident, officials said on Sunday.

The DFS control room responds to maximum calls on Diwali, and firefighters need to be on their toes to deal with any emergencies, they said.

This year, a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers has been put in place in the national capital till January 1, 2022.

However, despite a complete ban on the usage of all kinds of firecrackers last year, the fire department responded to 205 fire-related calls till Diwali midnight, recalled officials.

The fire department said a meeting was chaired by its director Atul Garg on October 12 to discuss the preparations for Diwali which falls on November 4.

The DFS said according to plan, this year on Diwali, the fire units will be deployed at over 20 locations across the city for two days—on November 3 and November 4, from 5 pm to midnight.

According to the fire department, fire tenders will be placed at 22 locations across the national capital some of whom include Bara Tooti Chowk, Tilak Nagar, Lajpat Nagar (Central Market), Lal Kuan Chowk, Lahori Gate, Nangloi, South Extension, Sonia Vihar, Mehrauli, Ghitorni metro station, among others.

Motorcycle fitted with fire-fighting equipment will also be deployed in the streets and narrow lanes at six other locations, including Ambedkar Nagar, Kapashera, Chandni Chowk, Sabji Mandi, Ghanta Ghar, Paharganj Shiela Cinema, Shadipur depot, a senior fire official said.

Another set of fire-fighting vehicles will also be deployed in the lanes of another six locations, including Connaught Circus, Hari Nagar, Geeta Colony, J Road, Paschim Vihar and M. Road, he said.

DFS director Atul Garg said all the divisional officers will be responsible for ensuring availability of vehicles with essential equipment at designated locations.

“We are completely prepared to deal with any fire-related emergencies during Diwali. In order to ensure availability of firefighting staff and to keep all units in ready to deployment positions, we have cancelled leave of all our staffs.

“No leave shall be granted to them on November 3, 4 and 5, including those deployed at fire control room, which is the first responder to fire-calls,” he said.

Every year, the fire department identifies Diwali hot-spots after analysing last year’s call records and data from where the maximum numbers of calls were received on Diwali.

Accordingly, fire tenders are deployed at the specific locations, the fire officials said. —PTI