Ludhiana: As Ludhiana lights up for Diwali and families gather to celebrate, around 150 fire brigade personnel will spend the festival away from their loved ones, standing guard against emergencies across the city. For many of them, missing Diwali at home has become a tradition of its own.Station fire officer Rajan Singh has not celebrated the festival at home in 25 years of service. “I have no regret. If we remain alert, people get to spend time safely with their families. We are happy performing our duty,” he said.With the festival posing a heightened fire risk, the department has stepped up preparedness and established three temporary fire stations at Jalandhar bypass, Samrala Chowk and near Verka milk plant to cut response time. Fire tenders and personnel will remain ready to respond to emergencies through the festive period.Special attention is also being paid to the congested old markets, where narrow lanes can slow down fire tenders. Officials have inspected fire hydrants in these areas and said they were functional. Municipal corporation staff will remain deployed at designated locations to keep tubewells running so fire tenders can replenish their water tanks when required.Sub-fire officer Dinesh Kumar said all necessary arrangements had been made to tackle emergencies. Fire officials have also appealed to residents to follow safety precautions and burst crackers only during the permitted two-hour window.Leading fireman Rajinder Kumar said years of spending festivals together had turned the fire brigade into a second family. “We have around 150 employees and we are now family to each other. We celebrate at the fire stations and then perform our duty,” he said. Their families, he added, once complained about their absence on Diwali night, but have gradually come to accept that festival duty comes with the job.
