NEW DELHI: The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) has responded to nearly 33,000 emergency calls between April 1 last year and February 16 this year, according to official data. During this period, 1,213 fatalities were reported across the city, while 2,042 people were injured, as per the data.
A fire department official said a total of 32,914 emergency calls were received between April 1, 2025, and February 16, 2026. Of these, 28,783 calls were recorded between April 1 and December 31 last year. In the current year alone, from January 1 to February 16, the department has already attended 4,131 emergency calls.
Officials said emergencies ranged from fires in residential and commercial buildings to road accidents and other distress situations requiring immediate response.
However, firefighting operations face significant challenges. The official pointed out that several areas have extremely narrow lanes, making it difficult for large fire tenders to access incident sites. This often delays response time and complicates rescue operations.
Firefighters also face serious risks, including exposure to intense flames, thick smoke, explosions and the possible collapse of weakened structures. Despite these dangers, they continue to operate in hazardous conditions to save lives, often putting their own safety at risk, the officer added.
In June last year, four people were killed and three injured in a fire at a multi-storey building housing manufacturing units near Rithala Metro station. In January this year, three members of a family were burnt to death after a fire broke out at Delhi Metro Rail Corporation staff quarters near Majlis Park Metro station in northwest Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar. The deceased were identified as Ajay Vimal (42), his wife Neelam (38), and their 10-year-old daughter Jahanvi. In another incident in November, four people, including a brother-sister duo, died and a woman was injured after a fire broke out at a footwear shop in a four-storey building in south Delhi.