Diwali day keeps firemen on toes, 13 calls in 24 hrs

Nagpur: A total of 13 fire incidents in 24 hours were reported in the city on Diwali. Preliminary probe reveals that most of the fire calls were related to firecrackers, and luckily no one was injured, said chief fire officer Rajendra Uchake.
He told TOI that the number of fire calls on Diwali night has reduced significantly over the years. In 2021, on Diwali night, the firemen had attended to 10 fire calls related to firecrackers. “This year too no major fire call was reported from the city limits,” he said.
Fire officials from Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s fire and emergency department said the first fire call was reported from Ganeshpeth area at 5.20pm, when a fire was reported from multi-storey Mangal Sarda Apartment in front of Ganeshpeth police station. Acting swiftly, firemen from Cotton Market attended to the call and controlled it before it could spread.
It was followed by a fire call received at 7.04pm from a vacant plot in front of Goddess Kali temple in Kalamna area. Soon, another fire call from the fourth floor of a multi-storey apartment in Ramdaspeth area was reported at around 7.30pm. Here too, swift action by firemen from Civil Lines and Narendra Nagar fire stations averted a major tragedy.
After dousing the fire in Ramdaspeth, the firemen received another call at around 8.40pm from Civil Lines from 106 Kholi. They reached the place and doused the flames within minutes.
At 9.01pm, firemen from Narendra Nagar received a call from a house near NIT Garden, Tatya Tope Hall. Quick response from the firemen helped prevent the fire from spreading.
Likewise, fire calls were reported from Baba Decoration at Bhim Chowk, Aji Ajoba Park at Dindayal Nagar, Ravi Saoji Bhojnalaya near Shatavari Chowk, and a tree too caught fire near Cotton King School in Manish Nagar area.
On Tuesday afternoon too, a fire call was reported from Gandhisagar area after roadside waste caught fire due to firecrackers.
At around 7.30 pm on Tuesday, a fire call was reported from Ajni railway quarter area close to the railway station. A stock of electric cables was gutted in the inferno, which was brought under control by five fire tenders, said Uchake.
The fire department estimated loss of property in the above fire calls to be around Rs5 lakh, while it claimed to have saved properties to the tune of crores of rupees.
Meanwhile, household goods like sofa set, centre table, computer and wooden ‘temple’ worth Rs35,000 were gutted after a fire erupted from a puja lamp in city’s Shaktiman Nagar, Kharbi road. CFO said the fire started from diya (lamp) at around 4.15pm on Tuesday. Firemen from Lakadganj fire station attended to the call.