The Hindu : Front Page : Very few calls on Deepavali day this year

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 24, 2006
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Very few calls on Deepavali day this year

Staff Reporter

ON THE ALERT: The vehicles of Fire and Rescue Services Department on a campaign trail in Tiruchi. — PHOTO: R.M. RAJARATHINAM

TIRUCHI : The Fire and Rescue Services Department received very few calls on Deepavali day in the city this year.

It received only six calls and there were no calls from elsewhere in the district.

In all cases `rockets' were the main cause of fire. All of them were "small fires," which were extinguished.

While the Tiruchi Fire Station received four calls, the station at Srirangam got two calls, a senior official said here.

Statistics provided by the department reveals that it had received 20 calls, all due to crackers, on Deepavali day in 2005, three calls in 2004 and 12 calls in 2003.

The calls were less this year due to inclement weather and awareness campaign undertaken by the fire fighters, say the authorities.

They said that the fire fighters embarked on a sustained awareness campaign to enlighten the public about precautionary steps to be taken while bursting crackers.

Besides, fire service tenders were stationed at vantage points to rush in case of an alert.

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