How Delhi's fire dept came through during worst Covid wave yet

New Delhi: While the fourth wave of the pandemic laid bare the frailty of the Capital's healthcare infrastructure in the last two months, combined with rising temperatures, use of electrical equipment saw a sharp rise and a large number of fires were reported, several in hospitals dealing with Covid-19 patients amid an acute oxygen crisis.

In one such incident, the Delhi Fire Services had saved the lives of as many as 17 Covid patients admitted to a Vikaspuri hospital, which was surviving on fast-depleting oxygen supply as the supply crunch continued.

One fire official said at the private hospital named UK nursing home in the Vikaspuri area, they rescued nearly 17 COVID-19 patients. "We knew that they were COVID-19 positive but we took proper precautions to handle them. We took them out by holding them and then shifted all patients to a safe place," the official said.

An official said that during such rescue operations, they can't wear a PPE kit as it is made of inflammable materials and will soon catch fire. "We wear Dangri through which we keep ourselves protected. Also after the rescue operation, we sanitise ourselves," the official said.

According to data compiled by the Delhi Fire Services, the fire department responded to 4,397 incident calls in the city throughout April and the first half of May.

About 3,240 calls were received in April in which 50 were fatal and 77 were non-fatal. Whereas in May (till 16) about 1,157 calls were received in which 24 deaths were reported and 61 lives were saved.

The data further shows that last year in April, Delhi Fire Department received 1,801 calls in which 14 deaths were reported and 61 lives were rescued. In May, about 2,326 calls were received in which 10 deaths were reported 148 total lives were rescued.

Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Services said the reason behind rising calls during April was a rise in temperature and also heavy use of electronic equipment which led to fire incidents.

According to the official, at the time of the rescue operation, their priority is to save the people who are trapped. "There are several instances where during the rescue operation, crowds erupt at the spot. And we also don't know whether people who are in the crowd are COVID 19 positive or not. But we don't lose focus on the rescue operation. We try everything to ensure we keep our distance from the crowd," the official said.

"We have also received calls related to suicide, drowning, birds rescue and others," Garg added.