New Delhi, May 23: A major fire broke out in a multi-storeyed building housing offices of banks, around 300 metres from Parliament House, here this evening trapping several people inside for about an hour.
One person suffered minor injuries in the blaze that erupted in the office of Punjab National Bank in UCO Bank Bhavan on Parliament Street at Patel Chowk at around 4:45 PM.
Twenty-three fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire which was brought under control within half an hour though thick plumes of smoke continued to billow out of the four-storey building even after the flames were put out. The fire was put out by 7 pm.
M S Siddhu, Medical Superintendent of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, said only one person was brought to the facility for treatment. “His case is not a serious. He inhaled smoke and felt uneasy,” he said.
According to fire brigade officials, 250-300 people were inside the building when the fire broke out. Eye-witnesses said they heard a blast in the ground floor of the building and later found that fire had engulfed an air-conditioner.
“The fire started from the generator room on the ground floor and the smoke spread out from there to the top floors, trapping people. We deployed 23 fire brigades, 2-3 monkey ladders and two rescue responder or cranes in the operation,” A K Sharma, Director of Delhi Fire Service, said. Police and fire brigade officials suspect a short circuit is the cause of the blaze.
Sharma said the building had got a fire safety clearance for the first time in 1994. “But when was last time it was upgraded, I have to check the records. Also, the condition of the fire-fighting facility inside the building need to be probed.”
A large number of employees working in banks and customers were trapped inside. While some of them managed to get out of the building before the fire spread, a number of them got stuck as the exit was engulfed in smoke.
Six sky-lifts and hydraulic elevators were pressed into service by fire brigade officials who broke the windowpanes and rescued people from the top floor of the building. According to fire brigade officials, some people who went to the terrace to escape the smoke were also rescued.
The staffers, including women, climbed onto the ledges of windows. Rescue workers helped them onto cranes which brought them safely on the ground.
Paramveer (38), a fire fighter said, people were scared and were screaming for help.
Anxiety gave way to emotional scenes outside the building as colleagues hugged each other after getting out. Some family members of those working in the building also rushed to the spot after hearing about the incident.
An employee, who came out of the building, claimed he leapt onto the terrace of an adjoining building along with some colleagues.
He said an alarm sound was heard soon after the fire began. However, some others who claimed to be at the spot contradicted this version.
Police had to block traffic on parts of Ashoka Road and Parliament Street as rescue operations went on.
A couple of labourers engaged in some work at the adjacent Election Commission campus were the first to rush to the spot and they used the hydrant to douse the flames before fire tenders arrived.
