Summary:
AHMEDABAD: Despite the time ban imposed on bursting firecrackers this Diwali , the numbers of fire emergency calls rose from about 80 calls in 2017 to 162 this year. “It’s no surprise that a majority of the calls related to fire this week were caused by firecrackers including some major cases. AFES officials said some critical calls included calls from Gopalnagar where a decorator’s warehouse was gutted, from Amraiwadi where a corrugated box manufacturing unit caught fire, from Vishala Circle where a plastic manufacturing unit was gutted, and from Odhav where a storage house burned down. The incidents could have been avoided with a little bit of concern and vigilance,” he said. According to Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) officials, out of 162, 122 were due to firecrackers.While there were no major injuries reported, AFES officials said that there were at least eight to ten incidents where entire premises of storage space or warehouses were gutted due to stray firecrackers, a spark nearby or reasons such as electrical short-circuit.Rajesh Bhatt, additional chief fire officer, AFES, said that the brigade was on alert throughout the festivities..