LUCKNOW, May 2 -- Sizzling temperatures and mounting electrical loads turned April into one of the most intense months for Lucknow's fire department in recent memory. With a staggering 567 blazes recorded over 30 days, the city witnessed an average of one fire every 75 minutes, leaving fire crews stretched to their limits. The numbers tell a story of extremes. On April 23, the city reeled under 53 fire incidents in just 24 hours - the highest single-day spike - while quieter days like April 8 saw only two calls, exposing sharp and unpredictable swings. Amid the surge, tragedy struck in Vikas Nagar, where a fire claimed lives of two minors, bringing into focus the deadly risks behind the rising tally. "At the same time, timely interventions by fire personnel led to the rescue of around 25 people across multiple incidents, averting further loss of life," reveals month-long data of Lucknow fire & emergency services accessed by HT. The data shows, as the temperatures climbed, so did fire calls, especially in the latter half of the month, when daily incidents routinely crossed 30, pointing towards a mix of heat stress and electrical overload. Lucknow's total nine fire stations with nearly 30 firetenders and 200 fire fighters remained stretched, responding to a wide spectrum of emergencies from residential and commercial fires to blazes in open, cars, transformers often back-to-back, leaving little downtime for crews. Quoting April-May as the fiery months, Lucknow's chief fire officer (CFO) Ankush Mittal said: "Our firemen are working day and night as they even attended 50-60 calls in a day in April, responding to it in under 1 minute. Responding in 1 minute means the fire tender will leave from the nearby fire station within one minute of the call for the tragedy destination." "Not just physically, firemen remain mentally prepared to leave anytime and in any situation," said the CFO, adding that the 200 strength of firemen (although less than required) is running almost on full strength. "We're even training residents on fire safety by going from society to society," added Mittal. Out of the total fire incidents that took place in the city, the CFO highlighted that most of the fires were either in farmland, transformers or garbage. "AC short circuit also remains the top cause of fire," he added....