Nagpur: 10 fire incidents keep fire personnel on their toes on Diwali night

NAGPUR: Fire personnel from Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) fire and emergency services department had a busy Diwali night as the city reported 10 fire incidents, including a major fire in a firecracker shop and nine minor incidents.
The major fire occurred in a temporary firecracker shop at A-1 Sales Centre, a ground+2 storey building, located in Barakholi area of Jaripatka. Firecrackers and confectionery worth lakhs were gutted in the fire. No casualty was reported, said chief fire officer Rajendra Uchake and added that the cause of fire is yet to be ascertained.
Kailesh Kishanlal Chelani, owner of A-1 Sales, had obtained no objection certificate (NOC) for selling firecrackers in one of the two shops situated on the ground floor of A-1 Sales Centre.
Eyewitnesses told TOI Chelani closed his shop early at around 10.15pm on Thursday. At around 11.20pm, neighbours heard the sound of firecrackers from the closed shop. “Before anyone could understand anything, the loud sound of bursting crackers intensified and soon it engulfed the entire ground floor,” they claimed.
On being informed, eight fire tenders from Civil Lines, Sugat Nagar, Ganjipeth and Lakadganj rushed to the spot. Sensing the gravity of the incident, senior firefighting personnel including chief fire officer Uchake too reached the spot.
Uchake said the shop was closed when the fire started. “The remaining part of the building comprised a grocery shop, which had stock of packaged snacks items like wafers, biscuits etc. The building had only one opening on the ground floor and was packed from all four sides,” he said. Firemen then gained entry by breaking the wall from the adjoining building.
A total of eight fire tenders and one turntable ladder were used, and the fire was brought under control after three hours. No injuries or casualties were reported, said the CFO.
Shop owner Kailesh Kishanlal Chelani felt unwell after the incident and was hospitalised. “The fire department is yet to ascertain the loss of property damaged in the fire,” said a fire official.
Fire control room started receiving fire related calls after 8pm. The first incident was reported at the residence of one Sudhakar Patil in Buddh Nagar. Here, the fire started at around 8.20pm due to leakage in the LPG cylinder regulator. It was doused within minutes and no loss of property or life was reported.
This was followed by a call from Jaal Compound at around 9pm where firecrackers triggered a fire in a heap of garbage. At around 9.15pm a similar fire call was reported from Lendra Park in Ramdaspeth, and at 9.20pm from a shop owned by one Manik Wankhede near Dighori flyover. At around 9.35pm, a fire was reported in a garbage heap at KT Nagar near Axis Bank. Similar calls were attended to by fire personnel including on a terrace at New Colony, Chhaoni (9.48pm), near MSRTC bus stand in Ganeshpeth (11.35pm), scrap dealer shop (1.56am) in Jaitala, and fire at an open plot off Wardha road (4.25am). Throughout the night fire personnel attended 10 fire calls.
Most of the fire incidents took place due to firecrackers, said Uchake. Besides this, they also rescued a dog that fell into a well and a bird entangled in an electric wire in the city, said Uchake.