25 fires in one night! Ludhiana fire brigade's Diwali challenge

The Fire Brigade Department received about 25 fire calls on Diwali night which kept the firemen on toes. From these calls, only a few were the major ones. Fortunately, no loss of life or injury to anyone one was reported in these incidents.

Jaswinder Singh Bhangu, Assistant Divisional Fire Safety Officer (ADFO), said that about 20 fire calls were received on Diwali night while five were received in the morning. Firemen reacted immediately to all calls and reached the spot in minimum possible time.

Maximum calls were related to minor fire incidents in which fire broke out in a garbage dump, an empty plot, power transformer; etc. A woollen waste warehouse in Star City Colony went up in flames due to a firecracker spark and this was one of the major fire incidents reported. The fire caused a panic throughout the entire area. Residents were evacuated from their homes for safety. It took the fire brigade over an hour to reach the scene. The flames were so intense that cracks appeared in the walls of nearby houses, and the burning of electrical wires plunged the entire colony into darkness.

“Four fire tenders worked hard late into the night to bring the fire under control,” added ADFO Singh.

Local residents alleged that despite the administration's ban, the warehouse owner was storing woollen waste in an open plot. People have demanded that such warehouses be immediately shut down and action be taken against those responsible.

Another major call was received from Moti Nagar where fire broke out in a garment factory. Karan, who called the fire brigade, said that fire broke out after factory waste caught fire. Factory employees immediately deployed fire extinguishers and doused the flame. Meanwhile, the fire brigade also reached the spot.

Another major call was about fire in factory at Manna Singh Nagar where textile waste kept on the rooftop of the factory and caught fire. Gurinder Singh, who called the fire brigade, said the team had reached within five minutes and controlled the fire from spreading.

Another major fire was in a godown of diapers at Ajit Nagar, near Lal Kothi and in a factory in Mundian.

However, no major loss reported.