Mohali: Diwali celebrations kept fire brigade personnel on their toes in Mohali, with 41 fire distress calls received during the festivities. Five major fire incidents were reported, including a blaze at a used-car showroom in Sector 117, another involving vehicles kept as case property at a police station in Phase 7, and fires triggered by rockets landing on a cracker shop and parked vehicles. No loss of life or injuries were reported.Mohali city accounted for the highest number of calls at 15, followed by Kharar with 10 and Zirakpur and Derabassi with eight each. Five incidents were major, while the remaining calls largely involved smoldering garbage heaps, dry leaves, bushes in vacant plots and temporary structures.One of the major incidents was reported from Baltana in Zirakpur, where unauthorised cracker stalls caught fire after a rocket struck one of the shops. A large quantity of firecrackers stocked at the stall went up in flames, triggering panic in the area.Zirakpur fire officer Rajiv Kumar said the cracker stalls had been set up without authorisation, but the fire department had stationed a team near the site as a precautionary measure. Fire brigade personnel swung into action and brought the blaze under control. No casualty or injury was reported. Of the eight fire calls received in Zirakpur, most involved dry bushes in vacant plots.Mohali city witnessed three major fire incidents among the 15 calls received by its fire station. In the first, a used-car showroom in Sector 117 was gutted, with around 20 to 25 cars destroyed. The fire is suspected to have been triggered after a rocket struck the showroom.In another incident, around 25 to 30 vehicles parked as case property inside the Police Operation Cell police station in Phase 7 caught fire on Diwali night. The blaze damaged several vehicles parked on the premises. A fire brigade team rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control. The cause is being investigated.In a separate incident in Phase 2, a Thar SUV parked in the courtyard of a house was gutted after a rocket firecracker landed on it and exploded. A scooter parked next to the SUV was also destroyed in the fire.Kharar recorded 10 fire calls, including one involving a mobile tower after a burning cracker landed on its battery bank, triggering a blaze. The fire officer said the remaining incidents were mostly minor.In Derabassi, eight fire calls were received, most involving dry bushes in vacant plots and shanties in Lehli. Fire officer Baljit Singh said one of the incidents involved a fire at a flat in a housing society after a diya (earthen lamp) reportedly triggered a blaze. The fire was extinguished within minutes. No loss of life or injury was reported.Despite multiple fire incidents and extensive property damage, the fire brigade managed to prevent loss of life across the district.
