Only a handful of “minor” fire accidents caused by misfiring of “rockets” on the eve of Deepavali and on the festival day were reported in Tiruchi district this year unlike the previous year.
The number of calls received on the eve and on the day of the festival of lights in Tiruchi fire division this year was only 10 as compared to 61 reported in 2012. Of the 10 calls received this time, five were on the day of the festival and the rest on its eve.
Three haystacks — one in Manapparai and two in Tiruchi, and five thatched dwellings caught fire at different places in the district. Fire fighters, who had geared to meet emergency situations, reached the spot and put out the fire.
The fire accidents occurred primarily because of firing of “rockets”, said a senior official of the Tiruchi Fire Division that accounts for eight fire stations situated in Tiruchi, Srirangam, Navalpattu, Lalgudi, Pullambadi, Thuvarankurichi, Uppiliapuram, and Manapparai.
Showers in different places in the district on the Deepavali festival day and the presence of moisture was a major reason for very few fire accidents reported this time, said the official terming all of them as minor.
In the run up to the Deepavali festival, the Fire and Rescue Services department launched an intensive awareness campaign by conducting practical demonstrations in schools and in public places on safe bursting of crackers and the precautionary steps to be taken.
Karur
Firemen heaved a sigh of relief as Deepavali passed off without any major fire accident on Saturday.
The Fire and Rescue Services received just six distress calls on the D-day.
The personnel think that timely campaign to sensitize children and public to fire safety while playing with crackers paid off. The number was just half of what they usually answer every Deepavali day.
The Karur Fire Division has jurisdiction over four fire units stationed at Karur, Aravakurichi, Velayuthampalayam, and Musiri in neighbouring Tiruchi district. The firemen prepare themselves especially for the Deepavali period.
This year, the Karur Division Fire and Rescue Services personnel conducted awareness programmes in six schools in Karur educating thousands of children on making it a safe Deepavali.
Assistant Divisional Fire Officer S.Thavamani met licensed fire cracker dealers in the town and directed them to adhere to basic safety concepts on fire prevention.
