Delhi: 11 people hurt, many vehicles destroyed in 4 separate fires

Eleven people, including two firemen, were injured, and several vehicles gutted in four separate fire incidents in east and south Delhi between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, police and fire department officials said

Eleven people, including two firemen, were injured, and several vehicles gutted in four separate fire incidents in east and south Delhi between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, police and fire department officials said.

The estimated loss of property is yet to be ascertained, fire officials said. (PTI file photo. Representative image)

The fires were reported from a six-storey residential building in Batla House near Jamia Nagar, the malkhana (store room) of Mandawali police station, and a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus depot in Lodhi Colony, fire officials said, adding that three DTC buses, over half a dozen two-wheelers and several items, seized by the police in connection with various cases and kept in the store room, were destroyed.

In another fire incident late Thursday evening, a carpet and crockeries godown in Hamidpur village in near Alipur in outer Delhi caught fire around 6.30pm. A total of 19 fire tenders were rushed to the spot and firefighters were battling the blaze till late evening. The estimated loss of property is yet to be ascertained, fire officials said.

The Batla House fire took place around 8.30am and nine people, including five women, inhaled smoke and suffered burns while at least 20 others were safely rescued by firemen from the six-storey building. Four motorcycles, two scooters, one bicycle and nine electric panel boxes on the ground floor were gutted, the fire department said.

The fire at the residential building come a day after a blaze was reported from a residential building in Lajpat Nagar, in south-east Delhi, trapping nearly 80 residents who were later rescued by firefighters using hydraulic cranes and other equipment.

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg said the fire control room received a call at 8.48am alerting them about the structure fire near Shah Masjid in Batla House. Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

“The fire had started from the ground floor, where it gutted four bikes, two scooters, one bicycle and nine electric panel boxes. It quickly spread to the upper three floors causing nine people to inhale smoke and suffer burn injuries. Apart from the nine, 20 others were rescued. The injured persons were later shifted to AIIMS,” said Garg.

Around eight hours before the Batla House fire, three DTC buses were gutted at Sunehri Pullah bus depot near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Lodhi Colony, south Delhi, on Wednesday night.

Two firefighters suffered injuries after they slipped and fell into a pit while carrying out the fire extinguishing operations at the bus depot. The injured firefighters were identified as Suresh and Virender Singh. Both of them were admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre. Suresh was discharged while Singh continues to be treated, deputy commissioner of police (south) Benita Mary Jaiker said.

“We learnt that due to a short-circuit, three DTC buses, which were parked at a battery workshop at Sunehri Pullah bus depot, caught fire. Two were gutted while one bus was partially burnt,” she said.

Around the same time on Wednesday night, the malkhana of Mandawali police station also caught fire due to which a cooking gas cylinder also exploded. A total of six fire tenders were rushed to douse the flames, said the fire chief.

“Fire quickly spread owing to the presence of items such as liquor, wood items, LPG cylinders, etc., that were seized and kept at the malkhana -- a tin shed. Some two-wheelers parked near the malkhana were also partially damaged by the fire,” Garg said.