The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) has planned to deploy fire tenders at 23 locations across the city on the eve of Diwali (Wednesday) and Diwali (Thursday) to ensure that fires are dealt with promptly and no serious incidents occur won’t happen during the festivities, senior fire officials said. said Monday.

Apart from fire trucks (tenders), the fire brigade will also deploy motorcycle firefighters equipped with portable fire extinguishers, also known as ‘water mist backpacks’, at nine different locations on Diwali night for a Rapid firefighting action in congested neighborhoods that have narrow lanes – which larger firefighters cannot reach.

Two wireless remote-controlled “mini-robots” will also be pressed into service in case of emergency, while seven Quick Reaction Team (QRT) vans will be positioned at seven different locations across the city to deal with fires, they said. indicated the officers cited above.

Delhi Fire Service (DFS) chief Atul Garg said the places where fire trucks, motorcycles and QRT vans will be positioned from 5 p.m. to midnight on the eve of Diwali and Diwali have been identified as “fire vulnerable areas” based on fire calls received by the fire control room during Diwali in previous years.

“On average, the fire control room receives 60 calls every day. But on the eve of Diwali and Diwali, the number of calls increases at least three times because people decorate their homes with oil lamps, candles and decorative lights, which increases the electrical load, sometimes leading to short circuits. Keeping in mind our past experiences, we have decided to deploy our fire trucks, motorcycles equipped with portable fire extinguishers and QRTs in vulnerable areas,” Garg said.

He added that the staffing levels and telephone lines in the control room will also be increased during the two days to ensure that no emergency calls are missed.

According to DFS data, the fire control room received 208 emergency calls on Diwali last year, and this number was 201 in 2022. In 2021, there were 152 such calls on Diwali. There were four deaths in 2021, two in 2022 and one in 2023 on Diwali, but none of them were due to fires. Ten people were injured in fires in 2023, while 11 people were injured in similar incidents in 2022. The number of people injured in fires on Diwali in 2021 was one, according to DFS data.

Among the 23 locations where fire tenders will be deployed on the eve of Diwali and on Diwali this year are outside Tilak Nagar Police Station, Lajpat Nagar Central Market, Lal Kuan Chowk, Lahori Police Stations Gate and Nangloi, South Extension, Mehrauli Police Station and Ghitorni Metro Station. , Rani Bagh and Gandhi Nagar markets, New Ashok Nagar and Alipur police stations, Yamuna Vihar and Mundka metro station. The motorcycle fire brigade will be stationed at Nehru Place, Bhikaji Cama Place, Rani Jhansi Road, Nouveauté Cinema, Roop Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Geeta Colony, Jama Masjid and Sadar Bazar. Similarly, QRT vans will be deployed at Connaught Circus, Safdarjung, Shankar Road, Laxmi Nagar, Janakpuri, Paiwalan in Jama Masjid and CBD Shahdara, the DFS said.