Nearly 100 minor fires in Delhi on Diwali, no casualties

New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Nearly 100 minor fire-related incidents were reported the city on Diwali on Sunday, but there were no casualties, an official said.

"So far around 100 fire related incidents have been reported, all of which are minor. There are no reports of any casualty or major injury," said an officer of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS).

DFS has cancelled Diwali leave of all its employees and has put on standby 1,500 fire fighters across the city to handle any emergency.

Chief Fire Officer G.C. Mishra said that 1,500 fire fighters along with the back-up teams in control room, workshops and other departments are on duty to tackle emergency situations.

"A total of 59 fire stations exist and we have established 22 additional centres considering last year's experience," he said.

A total of 290 fire incidents were reported during Diwali last year.

Fire engines have been stationed at 22 sensitive areas across the city like Azadpur Mandi, Bara Tooti Chowk in Sadar Bazar, Ghitorni, Tilak Nagar, Lajpat Nagar and Gandhi Nagar as a precaution as the maximum number of fire calls are received from these areas.

Additional emergency teams have also been stationed at designated areas while for quick response, 10 motorcycles and 11 quick reaction teams too have been readied.

Delhi hospitals too have arrangements for treating victims of burn injuries during the festival.

While the Safdarjung Hospital, which has a reputed burn injury ward, has added 24 extra beds and deployed six more medical specialists, the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in central Delhi has set up an emergency OPD to handle burn cases.

Most cases of burns on Diwali arise from accidents attributed to firecrackers and are reported from late in the night to 6 in the morning.

The CATS (Centralised Accident and Trauma Services) has also put all its 150 plus ambulances on high alert. They will act in coordination with the police.

Over 500 cases of burn injuries caused by fire crackers were reported across the national capital on Diwali last year.