Delhi Fire Services records highest Diwali-night emergency calls in decade
What's the story
This year, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a record-breaking number of emergency calls on Diwali night. The department received 320 calls on October 31, the highest in the last decade. The number beats the previous record of 290 calls in 2015. Of these, 280 were fire-related incidents while others included animal and bird rescues and other emergencies like road accidents.
Call distribution
Peak emergency call hours and serious incidents
Most of the emergency calls were received between 6:00pm and midnight on Diwali night, with 176 calls logged during the time; 144 calls were recorded from midnight to 6:00am on November 1. Despite DFS being better prepared, three major fires were reported in Kalkaji, Nirman Vihar, and Mangolpuri. A blast also took place in a Delhi Transport Corporation bus due to potash being carried by a passenger, injuring two.
Preparedness measures
DFS's strategic deployment and rise in emergency calls
To ensure a quick response, the DFS had stationed fire tenders at 23 places across Delhi. Motorcycle-borne firefighters with portable extinguishers were also deployed at nine places to maneuver through congested areas. The spike came as massive crowds flouted a firecracker ban, resulting in increased air pollution. By Friday morning after Diwali, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) had plunged to "very poor" levels at 359, making Delhi the world's most polluted city at the time, followed by Lahore and Beijing.