NOIDA: Goods worth several lakhs of rupees were gutted in a fire that broke out in the basement of a four-storey commercial building in Nithari market on Monday afternoon.
More than 35 people, who were inside the building when the fire broke out, had a narrow escape after they managed to reach its terrace and were evacuated by local residents from the building’s rear side using ladders.
According to the chief fire officer Arun Kumar Singh, the fire broke out around 1.15pm at the basement of Hansraj tower in Nithari village in Sector 31 following which three fire tenders were rushed to the spot.
“Nine more fire engines were later sent to the spot as thick plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing out of the building,” Singh said. According to the official, the fire started due to a short circuit in the basement of the building where some air-conditioners were kept along with paints. “It quickly spread to the upper floors gutting over 10 shops in the complex. Some bikes parked in the building also caught fire,” he said, adding that no casualties have been reported so far but goods worth lakhs have been destroyed.
It took the firemen two and a half hours to control the blaze even though the cooling process continued till late evening. An official said the building did not have a fire no-objection certificate.
Vinit Kaushik, who works at Daikin shop, told TOI that more than three dozen people were inside the building when the fire started. “They were evacuated by locals from the rear side of the building with the help of ladders,” he said.
Additional DCP (Noida) Ranvijay Singh meanwhile said the building owner had been identified as Lokesh. “We are still ascertaining how the fire broke out,” he said.
As many as 626 incidents of fire have been reported from January to April 31 this year in Gautam Budh Nagar, data obtained from the fire department stated. While 1,372 fire incidents were reported in 2021, a total of 1,246 such incidents were recorded in 2020. “We have been continuously conducting awareness campaigns across residential societies, sectors, industrial and commercial areas of the district. More than 100 such campaigns and drills have been carried out till May,” Singh said.
