Bursting crackers? Here are the Dos and Don’ts from Fire Department

Chief Fire Officer Devendra Potphode said, “Being an emergency service, every fire brigade personnel is on duty and nobody is given an off during Diwali. To create awareness and avoid fires, we make announcements at several places such as the Lakshmi Road market, asking people to keep fire extinguishers and follow fire safety measures. The announcements would begin from Tuesday. Also, our teams across the city are alert and would be in action as soon as they get to know about any fire incidents.”

Potphode has appealed to citizens to follow certain precautionary measures like not to let children burst firecrackers without supervision of adults.

Potphode said while bursting crackers, citizens should ensure they do not wear artificial fabric clothes like tericot, terylene or nylon.

To prevent fires, he said, commonly used crackers ‘fulbaji’ (sparklers) should be dumped in water after use and not thrown in the air or near dustbins, not to hold ‘anaar’ (flowerpots) in hand and not touch ‘charki’ (ground spinners), as they might explode.

The fire brigade chief also advised that people should not burst firecracker garlands in public places or main roads or narrow lanes. Also, people should not light “diyas” near curtains or inflammable material.

Potphode asked people to avoid drying clothes on the terrace or balcony at the time of airborne sparks. He asked people to be careful while lighting rockets in bottles and tins. He said people, especially children, should not remove gunpowder from crackers and then light it as it may cause serious injury to eyes and face.

Call 101

The fire brigade has appealed to citizens to call the 101 emergency number in case of any fire. While bursting firecrackers, people have been advised to keep cold water nearby and use it in case anyone sustains burn injuries while bursting firecrackers.