Massive fire destroys gurdwara in Adelaide

According to reports, the fire broke out around 9:41 pm, prompting a fourth-alarm response, with more than 60 firefighters and 20 fire appliances working overnight to contain the blaze

A massive fire destroyed Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar in Virginia, north of Adelaide in Australia, on Sunday night. No casualties were reported.

There was no immediate confirmation on whether any saroops of Guru Granth Sahib were damaged in the fire. (HT)

According to reports, the fire broke out around 9:41 pm, prompting a fourth-alarm response, with more than 60 firefighters and 20 fire appliances working overnight to contain the blaze.

“At 9:41pm last night, the Virginia CFS responded to reports of flames and smoke coming from the Sikh Temple at Virginia. This was quickly upgraded to a 4th Alarm, meaning that we were joined by over 60 Firefighters on 20 appliances from neighbouring CFS Brigades as well as the MFS. We were further supported by SA Ambulance Services, South Australian Police and SA Power Networks”, said a spokesperson of Virginia Country Fire Service, in a statement.

The statement added that crews faced challenging conditions but prevented the fire from spreading to neighbouring properties and worked through the night to extinguish the blaze. “Additional crews will be working through the day today to extinguish any hot spots. Our thoughts go out to the Sikh community at this time,” the statement said. Sewadars were rescued safely by the firefighters.

There was no immediate confirmation on whether any saroops of Guru Granth Sahib were damaged in the fire.

Akal Takht forms panel

Taking note of the incident, Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj formed a panel of Sikh leaders from Australia and New Zealand to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.

The jathedar expressed concern and urged the Sikh community worldwide to strengthen safety and security measures at gurdwaras to prevent such incidents.

He directed Daljit Singh, president, and Karamjit Singh, secretary (coordinator) of the Central Sikh Association of New Zealand, Mandeep Singh of the Australian Sikh Council, Ravi Inder Singh and Pritam Singh of the Gurdwara Council of Victoria, and Gurinderjit Singh from Adelaide to visit the site and assess the situation.

The delegation has been asked to submit a comprehensive report to Akal Takht on the incident, including the status of the Guru Granth Sahib saroops (birs) present at the gurdwara, according to the statement issued by the Akal Takht.

The delegation will coordinate with the Australian authorities and the gurdwara management to gather details of the incident. The management committee of Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar has also been asked to submit a separate report to the Akal Takht secretariat.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami also expressed shock over the incident.