Fire/burn emergencies go up during Deepavali across Tamil Nadu

Compared with regular days, Tamil Nadu’s 108 emergency response network handled a 48% higher volume of emergencies on Deepavali. Fire/burn injuries recorded on Deepavali marked a nearly 900% jump from the daily average, while assaults increased by more than four times and vehicular trauma emergencies more than tripled across the State.

The 108 emergency management service handled a total of 7,463 cases on Deepavali, compared with an average of 5,051 cases on a normal day. These included fire/burns, assaults, vehicular and non-vehicular trauma, accidental poisoning, and respiratory issues. All ambulances were deployed in identified festival hotspots during the period.

As against an average of 26 cases of fire/burns on a regular day, the network attended to 261 persons during Deepavali; the percentage of variation being 904. Assaults surged to 808, which is 310% more than a normal day (197 cases). The number of vehicular trauma emergencies tripled, rising from 835 cases on a regular day to 2,578 during Deepavali. Non-vehicular trauma also rose. Respiratory emergencies also registered a small rise from 321 on a normal day to 391 on Deepavali, according to the data released by the network.

Emergencies in Chennai

In Chennai, the top 10 ambulance hotspots are Maduravoyal, the Koyambedu bus stand, the Koyambedu Metro, Anna Square, the Omandurar Medical College Hospital, Triplicane, Anna Salai,  Vadapalani, Guindy Kathipara and Adyar Madhya Kailash.

According to the data, the 108 ambulance network handled a total of 351 emergencies in Chennai this Deepavali as against 331 last year. There were 95 vehicular trauma emergencies, a small rise from 83 in 2024. As against 10 cases of fire/burns last year, there were eight cases this  Deepavali.

M. Kavitha, dean of Government Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital, said six cases were admitted to the special burns ward on October 19 and another six on the day of Deepavali. The hospital had set up a 20-bed ward to treat persons with cracker injuries.

Men’s ward full

The men’s ward is full, and except for two adults, the remaining are children. One woman was among those admitted, she said, adding, “Most of them have superficial burns, and some had 1%-5% burn injuries. However, when it comes to children, it is important to take utmost care. Most of the patients have burn injuries on the face and the hands. Adults should ensure that children do not re-ignite half-burnt crackers and those that have fizzled out. This is one of our main concerns now as we have had children coming in with injuries from such circumstances.”

At Sankara Nethralaya, doctors handled a total of 25 patients with cracker injuries on Deepavali and the day after. Of them, 23 were outpatients, and two were admitted and underwent corneal wound exploration surgery. As many as 10 patients had eye wash done, seven were referred to the glaucoma department, four for cornea opinion and one to the vitreoretinal department, the hospital said.