JAMMU: Fire and Emergency Services responded to 60 fire incidents across Jammu province during the past 24 hours, including 35 in Jammu district, with multiple major emergencies reported during the Diwali festive period.
According to the department, 16 fire incidents were reported in Jammu district within approximately five hours from 7 pm on November 8, requiring simultaneous deployment of firefighting vehicles, equipment and personnel at different locations.
In view of Diwali, the department had stationed fire tenders at strategic locations, including Gole Market, Gandhi Nagar and Gangyal, to ensure a prompt response to emergencies. Regular fire stations also remained operational throughout the period.
One of the major incidents was reported at 8.37 pm at a five-storeyed residential-cum-commercial building in Pahari Mohalla. 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 site at 8.44 pm, while additional resources were subsequently deployed, taking the total number of fire tenders engaged in the operation to seven.
The fire was brought under control in approximately 45 minutes, after which cooling operations were carried out.
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. The department mobilised 18 fire tenders from different fire stations and strategically deployed 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 ten minutes thereafter.
The fire was brought under control in around one and a half hours, followed by cooling operations to prevent its spread or recurrence. Approximately seven shops sustained damage, while a large number of adjoining shops were saved. Police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the District Administration assisted in the operation.
At 10.28 pm, another fire was reported at Garden Estate, where a marriage tent had caught fire. Four fire tenders from the nearest available locations were mobilised and reached the site within seven to eight minutes. An additional tender from Bari Brahmana Fire Station was also dispatched as reinforcement. The fire was brought under control in approximately half an hour, followed by cooling operations.
Later, at 11.40 pm, a fire broke out on the third floor of Janta Medical Store at Shalimar, located in a four-storeyed building. Fire tenders from City Fire Station and other locations were pressed into service. The first tender reached the site at 11.46 pm, followed by additional units, taking the total deployment to five fire tenders. The fire was brought under control in around 30 minutes.
The department said all reported emergencies were attended to despite the unusually high number of incidents and the simultaneous occurrence of major fires within a short period. It credited the coordinated efforts of Fire and Emergency Services, Police, SDRF and the District Administration with helping contain the fires and prevent further damage.
Meanwhile, responding to social media posts alleging that Fire and Emergency Services took around one and a half hours to reach the warehouse fire, the department said the claim was not supported by its deployment records and available CCTV footage.
It stated that the emergency call was received at 9.18 pm, while the footage from Asian Hotel Crossing showed fire tenders proceeding towards the site at 9.38 pm. Three additional tenders reached the location approximately ten minutes later.
The department maintained that these records did not substantiate the allegation of a one-and-a-half-hour delay in the arrival of firefighting teams.