SRINAGAR: Fire and Emergency Services responded to 60 fire incidents across Jammu Province in the past 24 hours, including 35 in Jammu district, where 16 incidents were reported within approximately five hours from 7 pm on November 8, amid multiple major fire emergencies during the Diwali festive period.
The department mobilised firefighting personnel and equipment from various fire stations and strategically deployed locations to tackle the emergencies, including fires at a residential-cum-commercial building in Pahari Mohalla, a warehouse-cum-shopping complex near Nehru Market, a marriage tent at Garden Estate and Janta Medical Store at Shalimar.
According to an official statement issued by Fire and Emergency Services on Monday, a fire was reported in a five-storeyed residential-cum-commercial building at Pahari Mohalla at 8.37 pm. Four fire tenders from Gandhi Nagar Fire Station and two from City Fire Station were immediately mobilised. The first tenders from City Fire Station reached the location at 8.44 pm, while additional deployment subsequently took the total number of fire tenders engaged in the operation to seven.
The fire was brought under control in approximately 45 minutes, followed by cooling operations.
Another major fire broke out at a warehouse-cum-shopping premises at 9.18 pm. The premises contained grocery and ration items, including cooking oil and ghee, requiring the deployment of 18 fire tenders from different fire stations and strategically stationed locations, including Gole Market, Gandhi Nagar and Gangyal.
The department said CCTV footage from a Smart City camera installed at Asian Hotel Crossing showed fire tenders proceeding towards the site at 9.38 pm. Three additional fire tenders reached the location within approximately 10 minutes thereafter.
The fire was brought under control in around one-and-a-half hours, followed by cooling operations to prevent its further spread or recurrence. Approximately seven shops sustained fire damage, while a large number of adjoining shops were saved.
The operation was conducted with the assistance of Police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the District Administration.
At 10.28 pm, another fire was reported at Garden Estate, where a marriage tent caught fire. Four fire tenders from the nearest available locations reached the site within seven to eight minutes, while another tender from Bari Brahmana Fire Station was dispatched as reinforcement. The fire was brought under control in approximately 30 minutes.
Later, at 11.40 pm, a fire broke out on the third floor of Janta Medical Store at Shalimar, housed in a four-storeyed building. Five fire tenders were deployed, with the first reaching the site at 11.46 pm. The fire was brought under control in around 30 minutes, followed by cooling operations.
The department said it had made advance arrangements for the Diwali period by positioning fire tenders at strategic locations across Jammu district, including Gole Market, Gandhi Nagar and Gangyal, while regular fire stations also remained operational.
Clarifying allegations circulating on social media that Fire and Emergency Services took around one-and-a-half hours to reach the warehouse fire, the department said its official deployment records and CCTV footage did not substantiate the claim.
It said the emergency call was received at 9.18 pm, while CCTV footage showed fire tenders proceeding towards the site at 9.38 pm, with three additional tenders reaching within approximately 10 minutes thereafter.
Despite the unusually high number of incidents and simultaneous major emergencies, the department said it responded to all reported incidents and credited the coordinated efforts of Fire and Emergency Services, Police, SDRF and the District Administration with containing the fires and preventing further spread.
