Mumbai gets 142 fire calls on Diwali night; BMC bans sky-borne firecrackers till November 25

On Diwali night, November 8, the fire brigade in Mumbai received 142 calls about fires. Of these, 137 were fires caused by firecrackers. The blazes across the city put heavy pressure on the fire service and emergency services. Two women were injured. Firefighters took up to nine hours to bring the major fires in Dongri, Marol and Vidyavihar under control.

After these incidents, the BMC banned rockets and other firecrackers that fly into the sky across Mumbai until November 25. The order has been in force since November 9. It applies to both public and private places within BMC limits: residential buildings, terraces, balconies, courtyards, parking areas and slum settlements. The ban is specifically on rocket-type firecrackers. Other firecrackers remain subject to existing laws and court directions. The order asks the police, BMC ward officers and the fire brigade to ensure it is enforced.

Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde also appealed to people to celebrate the festival responsibly. She said firecrackers should not be burst near residential buildings or on footpaths.

Three major fires tested the city's emergency arrangements on Diwali night. A fire at Haji Kasam Chawl on Dr Maheshwari Road in Dongri took nine hours to put out. A garage on Military Road in Marol caught fire and it was brought under control in about five hours. At Skyline Vida, a 10-storey commercial building near Jolly Gymkhana in Vidyavihar, the fire spread from the seventh floor to the 10th and took six hours to put out. According to preliminary information, no one was injured in these three major fires. Two women were injured in separate cracker-related incidents in the city.

In Thane, a major fire broke out in the 17-storey Carlisle building at Raheja Gardens and spread from the seventh floor to the 14th. About 40 to 50 residents affected by heavy smoke were rescued. Among those rescued was reportedly an elderly person dependent on BiPAP oxygen support. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reached the spot to review the relief work.

Violations continued during Diwali despite the Bombay High Court's restrictions on firecrackers. Police officers said they could not register FIRs against people bursting firecrackers in public places, so they were warned and asked to move away. Police sources claim that action was difficult because groups of people allegedly accompanying local political leaders confronted and threatened policemen who tried to act. A senior police officer said: "All our policemen were on the ground and we ensured that no one burst firecrackers in public places. We had allowed a two-hour relaxation after 10 pm, and nobody was permitted beyond that. People could enjoy Diwali and firecrackers inside their building compound, but only up to that."

Dr Prabhat S. Rahangdale, former chief fire officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade, said that however many appeals are made, people will keep bursting firecrackers if it is part of tradition, so awareness is the way forward. He said he still tells his family to keep windows closed, keep flammable items away from windows, and not store fuel or extra cylinders on balconies. In his view, awareness programmes before Diwali are necessary to prevent such accidents. Housing societies should keep sprinklers, fire pumps and extinguishers in working condition before the festival. He said: "We cannot blame Diwali alone; adequate safety arrangements must also be in place. During this time 10 to 20 fires can break out at once, which keeps firefighters extremely busy."

Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, addressing the mayor in a social media post, wrote that a stray rocket set fire to the sofa on his balcony. The post was later deleted. He said his dogs alerted the family in time and that fire-resistant fabric prevented a major accident. He wrote: "Who doesn't like celebrating Diwali? But stray rockets are not cultural pride, they are a fire hazard. Our great culture does not permit putting innocent lives, homes and property at risk." He demanded strict enforcement and accountability.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray wrote on social media that the police and administration should issue an official statement and take action on firecracker rockets that randomly enter people's homes and start fires. He wrote that some horrifying incidents had occurred in cities such as Mumbai and Thane in the past two days.

Sumaira Abdulali, founder of Awaaz Foundation, said firecrackers are handled by the police explosives department and not by the law-and-order police, and there is a reason for this. According to her, some products sold under the guise of firecrackers are low-intensity real bombs and a serious danger to the public. She said that in earlier chemical tests at a private lab, Awaaz Foundation found that firecrackers do not disclose their actual chemical contents on the packet. Many lack scannable QR codes and some have no QR code at all. She suggests that firecrackers be presented like a show, where ordinary people gather as spectators and the crackers are set off from a safe distance.

Dr Preeti Sathe, founder of Himiz Bark Clinic in Vikhroli and a trustee of RAWW, said cases of pet, wild and community animals at her clinic have risen compared with previous years. Cats and dogs are coming in with burn injuries, as well as injuries sustained while fleeing noise and smoke, such as vehicle accidents, fights with other animals and displacement from their territory. Pets and birds are suffering from allergies caused by pollution and noise, infections, and stress-related problems such as loss of appetite.

Figures show that total fire calls during Diwali were 262 in 2024, of which 80 were linked to firecrackers. In 2025, 113 of 289 were linked to firecrackers. In 2026 there were 142 calls, of which 137 were caused by firecrackers on November 8 alone. In an emergency, the Mumbai Fire Brigade number is 101 and the BMC disaster management number is 1916.