Ahmedabad recorded 126 fire incidents during the 12-hour period from 6 pm on Diwali evening to 6 am on Monday, with fire-control rooms receiving their highest volume of calls between 10 pm and midnight. Three people trapped near a building close to Silver Oak College in Gota were rescued safely, while no injuries or deaths were reported across the city.
According to information received by the fire-control room, the 112 and 101 emergency lines remained busy throughout the night as fire teams responded to incidents in Bopal, Navrangpura, Nikol, Vasna, Ghodasar, Bodakdev and Danilimda, among other areas.
More than 70 of the 126 calls were received between 10 pm and midnight, when firecracker activity was at its peak. Fire brigade teams reached the reported locations and brought the fires under control using water jets.
Preliminary information indicated that most of the fires began when sparks from firecrackers landed in open plots or on piles of waste. Several incidents were also reported in residential buildings, where firecrackers caused household goods to catch fire and resulted in property damage.
At Mary Park Society opposite Khokhra police station, a spark from a firecracker landed on a date palm tree and triggered a fire. The flames spread to around five vehicles parked beneath the tree, according to the report.
The most serious rescue operation took place near a building close to Silver Oak College in Gota, where three people became trapped amid smoke and flames after a fire broke out. Fire personnel used water from one side while carrying out a rescue operation from the other, bringing all three people out safely.
The incidents were reported as occurring mainly because of firecracker sparks, although the supplied report does not provide a consolidated estimate of the financial value of property damaged. In several locations, household articles were destroyed after fires spread inside homes.
Fire brigade teams’ rapid response helped prevent a major incident or loss of life, the report said. The emergency response also involved simultaneous mobilisation across multiple parts of Ahmedabad during the peak festive period. No injuries were reported in the 126 incidents documented during the period.
