Extended Diwali celebrations: Challenge for city firefighters, two suffer injuries

The extended Diwali celebrations proved to be a two-day ordeal for city’s firefighters, who were relentlessly called into action. As Monday night witnessed only 25 fire incidents, Tuesday night, in particular, saw a surge in distress calls, with officials reporting 58 fire incidents, including five deemed major, which unfortunately left two firefighters injured.

Fire Department officials said the increased volume of fireworks on Tuesday night led to more incidents. Over the two-day festivities, the city recorded a total of 83 fire incidents, significantly higher than the previous year’s Diwali night, which saw over 70 calls.

As per information, a number of serious blazes erupted in industrial areas. As one incident occurred at a washing unit on Tibba Road, firefighters struggled to contain the blaze due to presence of chemicals inside the facility. During the operation, firefighter Gurtej Singh sustained minor burn injuries on his foot due to the extreme heat and flames.

Another incident occurred at a fabric factory in Bajra village, with flames destroying the ground floor unit. Another major incident involved a godown in Khawajke village filled with large quantities of waste material. Another factory on Tibba Road saw its shed collapsed due to the intense heat of fire.

Sub-fire officer Aatish Rai said controlling the fire was a challenging task that required the deployment of at least four fire tenders and took over four hours to subdue the same.

Leading fireman Vijay Kumar faced an injury while on a call to a flat fire on the 10th floor near GNE College on Gill Road. While his team was dousing the flames, residents on the 11th floor desperately broke their windowpanes in an attempt to escape the smoke. A piece of flying glass struck Vijay on the head, causing a significant injury and bleeding. Despite injuries, he continued the rescue work. After dousing the flames, the fireman was rushed to a hospital where he received four stitches on his head.

Assistant divisional fire official Jaswinder Singh Bhangu offered high praise for the staff’s dedication, commending the firefighters for their timely actions that prevented major tragedies.

Meanwhile, minor fire incidents were also reported in areas such as Samrala Chowk, Janakpuri, Salem Tabri, Kot Mangal Singh and Sham Nagar.