New Delhi: A fire broke out in the Gopaldas Bhawan building, which houses offices of several private firms, on Barakhamba Road here on Thursday afternoon, sending its occupants scurrying for safety. The fire started on the eighth floor of the 17-storey building due to a short circuit and spread to the ninth, tenth and eleventh floors, fire officials said. Black smoke was seen billowing from the building.
While all occupants of the building were evacuated safely, a fireman sustained minor injuries in the firefighting operation, they said. A call about the fire was received around 1 pm and 15 fire tenders were pressed into service, said Rajinder Atwal, Divisional Fire Officer, Delhi Fire Services. "By 2:10 pm, we had doused the fire," he said.
No civilian was injured but a firefighter sustained a minor injury in the operation, he added. According to another Delhi Fire Services official, it was earlier suspected that the fire broke out on the 11th floor but it was later found that it started on the 8th floor. "The fire broke out due to a short circuit in the wires in the shaft and it spread to the 9th, 10th, and 11th floors of the building," the official said.
Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said the building had a fire no-objection certificate (NOC) and it was renewed last year. Delhi Police officials the blaze spread as waste material in the building caught fire. They said a case of negligence will be registered against unidentified persons in the incident. Rashi Sharma, who was visiting a bank in the Gopaldas Bhawan building when the fire broke out, said around 1 pm, she heard people shouting that a fire had broken out and everyone should leave the building.
"After hearing this, everyone inside the building panicked and started running towards the fire exits. Guards were there to help senior citizens," she said. Another eyewitness Akash said when he came out, he saw smoke emanating from the building and people shouting. Soon after, firefighters reached the spot and began the rescue operation, he said. In July this year, a fire broke out on the ninth floor of the DCM building on Barakhamba Road. No one was injured in the incident.
