A fire broke out on the second floor of the Department of Personnel and Training’s (DoPT) office in North Block, a statement issued by the department said. The North Block Secretariat building here houses the offices of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the DoPT.
The statement said a minor fire had broken out in Room No. 209, North Block at around 9.15 a.m. on Tuesday, where the DoPT’s International Cooperation (IC) division is located.
The IC division deals with legislative matters related to the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act; international corporation; policy matters related to welfare activities for Central government employees; resident welfare associations; Central Civil Services Culture and Sports Board; complaints of corruption relating to Central, State, Union Territory administrations and employees of public sector undertakings; and matters related to the Central Vigilance Commission.
“No injuries have been reported. The cause of fire appears to be short circuit in the electrical equipments in this room. The fire was contained within 20 minutes by the joint efforts of CISF [Central Industrial Security Force], CPWD [Central Public Works Department] & Delhi Fire Services [DFS],” the statement read.
Speaking to The Hindu, a DFS official said that seven fire tenders had been rushed to the spot and the flames were doused by 9.35 a.m.
“A photocopying machine, some computers, and some documents caught fire,” the official said.
The statement confirmed that no physical records or files had been damaged, only a few items of furniture, and some equipment, had been partially damaged.
While Union Minister Amit Shah was not present in the building, several other senior officials were present at the time of the fire, another DFS officer said.
