Delhi fire dept records unusual surge in calls as heat triggers electrical fault

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said on Thursday they received 183 fire-related calls on Wednesday alone, forcing the department to stretch its resources to the limit, with officials calling it a surge not typically seen outside of Diwali season fireworks trigger blazes.

The calls were received at 66 fire stations across Delhi and were attended to by 2,300 firemen, officials said, citing the ongoing heatwave as one of the factors, triggering electrical fires and blazes at waste dumps.

“We usually get around 150-170 fire-related calls per day in the summer, a figure that drops to 60-70 in the winter… However, the number of calls on Wednesday (May 29)… stretched our men and equipment to the limit,” said DFS director Atul Garg, calling the situation challenging for the department.

“Our men are not sleeping or taking rest at all. They are working round-the-clock to attend to calls,” the official said.

“The calls on Wednesday were received from industrial areas in west Delhi, and were mostly triggered by short circuits in buildings and shops located in congested lanes,” a DFS official said, on condition of anonymity.

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Data disclosed by the department showed that this year, DFS had 2,991 calls till May 26, compared to 1,422 calls in the corresponding period last year.

Officials said on Wednesday, they did not receive calls about any major fire, they were getting frequent calls about short circuits in electricity poles and fires in waste dumps.

“In summers, the temperature is already high, so a small spark can trigger a fire,” Garg added.

Experts meanwhile called for authorities to check the electricity before the onset of summer.

“It’s a well-established fact globally that as heat increases — and especially during heatwaves — the number of fires increase, especially in hotter countries such as India. One of the reasons is the increase in the load on the electricity grid. Machines like air conditioners and coolers are used at an all-time high during peak summers. It’s essential to check the electricity grid and its resilience before the summer’s peak to curb fires,” said Aditya Pillai, fellow at Sustainable Futures Collaborative.