India, Nov. 10 -- Of the 282 fire calls received by the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) between November 6 and 10am on November 9, 200 or nearly 71% of the calls pertained to fires attributed to firecrackers, according to data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

On Sunday alone, the fire brigade received 142 calls, of which 137 were related to firecrackers, the data showed.

This year's figures point to a sharp increase in firecracker-related incidents over the previous two years, said chief fire officer Ravindra Ambulgekar.

"It is true that firecracker-related incidents have spiked. Despite awareness, people burst a lot of firecrackers this year," Ambulgekar told Hindustan Times.

Given the spike in such incidents, Bombay High...