Pune recorded 94 fire calls during Diwali night, with incidents reported across residential areas, shops, warehouses, vehicles, open plots and an electrical distribution point, according to the Pune Fire Brigade. No deaths or injuries were reported, as fire personnel worked through the night to contain the blazes.
The calls were logged between 3 pm on Lakshmi Pujan day and 7 am the following morning. Fire officials said sparks from firecrackers triggered several incidents, particularly involving dry grass and trees in open spaces. Fires were also reported in balconies, flats, shops, warehouses, tarpaulin structures and vehicles across central Pune and its suburbs.
The first call was received at 3.14 pm from the basement of an abandoned building in Kadnagar, Kondhwa. The sequence continued through the evening and early morning. A balcony at Nagnath Paar in Sadashiv Peth was reported to have caught fire at 7.23 pm, while a flat near the Mundhwa Bridge in Kharadi was reported at 8.42 pm.
At 9.37 pm, the fire brigade received a call about a shop at Samadhan Chowk, opposite the Dagdusheth temple. A warehouse in the Katraj-Ambegaon area was reported at 10.46 pm. Further calls came from Manikbaug at 2.49 am, a sugarcane-processing shed near Kirad Hospital in Nana Peth at 6.05 am, and a company in Gujarwadi at 6.45 am.
Other locations mentioned in the fire brigade response included Goyel Ganga on Sinhagad Road, Ganj Peth, Shukrawar Peth, Pashan, Baner, Fursungi, Warje Canal Road and Aundh village. Fires were reported at homes, galleries, shops and warehouses. Vehicles caught fire in Manikbaug and Raikar Mala in Dhayari, while an electrical distribution point in Aundh village was also affected.
A flex-printing shop at Sonawane Industries near CityPride on Satara Road caught fire at around 9 pm. Four fire engines and one water tanker were sent to the location, where firefighters brought the blaze under control. Other commercial locations affected included a weighing-scale shop in Mangalwar Peth, a shop near the Dagdusheth temple and warehouses in Warje and Fursungi.
The concentration of calls meant that personnel from several fire stations remained alert overnight and responded to incidents at the same time in different parts of the city. Firefighters reached the reported locations and prevented the fires from causing a larger loss, the report said.
The Pune Fire Brigade has asked residents to maintain a safe distance from balconies, terraces and combustible materials while lighting firecrackers. The department’s advisory follows a night in which fire risk extended across Pune’s dense residential areas, commercial premises, open land and roadside structures.
