According to an official statement issued by the department on Monday, firefighting personnel and equipment were mobilised from various fire stations and strategically positioned locations to tackle the emergencies.
Among the major incidents were fires at a residential-cum-commercial building in Pahari Mohalla, a warehouse-cum-shopping complex near Nehru Market, a marriage tent at Garden Estate and Janta Medical Store in Shalimar.
The first major fire was reported at 8.37 pm in a five-storeyed residential-cum-commercial building at Pahari Mohalla. Four fire tenders from Gandhi Nagar Fire Station and two from City Fire Station were immediately dispatched. The first vehicles reached the spot at 8.44 pm, while additional reinforcements took the total deployment to seven fire tenders.
The blaze was brought under control within approximately 45 minutes, after which cooling operations were undertaken.
Another major fire broke out at a warehouse-cum-shopping complex at 9.18 pm. The premises housed grocery and ration goods, including cooking oil and ghee, prompting the department to deploy 18 fire tenders from different stations and strategically stationed locations, including Gole Market, Gandhi Nagar and Gangyal.
The department said CCTV footage from a Smart City camera near Asian Hotel Crossing showed fire tenders moving towards the site at 9.38 pm. Three more tenders reached the location within the following 10 minutes.
After nearly one-and-a-half hours of firefighting, the blaze was brought under control, followed by cooling operations to prevent further spread. Around seven shops suffered damage, while several adjoining establishments were saved.
The operation was carried out with the assistance of Police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the District Administration.
At 10.28 pm, another fire was reported at Garden Estate after a marriage tent caught fire. Four fire tenders from nearby locations reached the site within seven to eight minutes, while another vehicle from Bari Brahmana Fire Station was sent as reinforcement. The fire was controlled in approximately 30 minutes.
Later, at 11.40 pm, a fire broke out on the third floor of Janta Medical Store at Shalimar, located in a four-storeyed building. Five fire tenders were pressed into service, with the first reaching the spot at 11.46 pm. The blaze was brought under control in around 30 minutes, followed by cooling operations.
The department said special arrangements had been made ahead of Diwali, with fire tenders stationed at strategic points across Jammu district, including Gole Market, Gandhi Nagar and Gangyal, while regular fire stations continued to remain operational.
Responding to social media claims that firefighters took around one-and-a-half hours to reach the warehouse fire, the department said its deployment records and CCTV footage did not support the allegation.
It maintained that the emergency call was received at 9.18 pm and that CCTV footage showed fire tenders proceeding towards the location at 9.38 pm, with three additional vehicles arriving within approximately 10 minutes.
Despite the unusually high number of incidents and multiple simultaneous emergencies, the department said it attended all reported calls. It credited the coordinated efforts of Fire and Emergency Services, Police, SDRF and the District Administration with containing the fires and preventing further damage.
