Delhi: Fire, explosions at Azad Market leave 5 hurt, flatten 3 buildings

The fire also affected a residential building across the road whose occupants cleared their homes and rushed out to the lanes after the blaze spread to a godown and offices on the ground and first floors

At least 14 people, including six firefighters and a policeman, were injured and three buildings came crashing down in two incidents of fire and cylinder blasts at Azad Market in north Delhi and Anand Parbat Industrial Area in central Delhi in the early hours of Saturday, fire and police departments said. No casualties were reported in either incident.

Three buildings were gutted in fire. (Arvind Yadav/HT)

At Azad market, the fire and subsequent cylinder blasts razed three buildings -- three-storey structures housing nearly a dozen shops -- and also affected a residential building across the road whose occupants cleared their homes and rushed out to the lanes after the blaze spread to a godown and offices on the ground and first floors.

The blasts also caused cracks in a few adjacent buildings housing shops, with a fire department official saying that two buildings adjacent to the collapsed structures were badly damaged.

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said they received a call regarding the fire at 4.40am, following which a police team rushed there. “Five people suffered minor injuries in a cylinder blast in an adjoining welding shop,” said Kalsi. It was not immediately clear who the five injured persons were.

Five fire tenders were brought in to douse the flames, with teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority and National Disaster Response Force working along with firefighters and police personnel to remove debris of the collapsed buildings.

“A case has been filed under IPC sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 336 (whoever does any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others), 337 (whoever causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life, or the personal safety of others). Legal action is being initiated,” said Kalsi.

Fire officials said they are yet to ascertain the cause of the fire.

The firefighting operation continued till late evening and the affected residents and shopkeepers were seen removing burnt items and shattered glasses, and cleaning the floors and walls of their flats and shops through the day.

Some residents claimed the flames reached up to their balconies, with the fire shattering window panes and damaging electric appliances like air conditioners, coolers, washing machines and even some kitchen appliances.

“Being the month of Ramzan, all our family members were awake and preparing for the morning prayer when we saw fire in the electric pole across the building. The flames engulfed the buildings near the electric pole. We informed the police and fire department. While the firefighting operation was on, at least three blasts took place and three buildings came crashing down,” said Mohammad Alam, who lives with his wife, Shehnaz and two children on the second floor of the affected residential building.

Shehnaz added that the several burning items from the shops were flung across the road due to the impact of the blasts. “We feared that the flames will soon engulf our flats and our building may collapse, trapping us. All of us panicked and vacated the building. We all came to the main road. The situation was horrific. We returned only after the firefighters doused the flames in our building and declared it safe,” said Shehnaz.

Residents said property worth several lakhs were gutted in the incident.

Nine injured in Anand Parbat

Meanwhile, at Anand Parbat Industrial Area, a fire broke out in an electrical items manufacturing factory, following which nine people were injured when LPG cylinders kept inside exploded during dousing operations.

The nine included six firefighters, a policeman, one person associated with the factory and a security guard.

Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said the control room received a call at 4.45am about the fire in a factory at gali number 4 in the industrial area, following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

“We have admitted the injured firemen at a private hospital near Karol Bagh. The fire is under control now,” said Garg.

The six injured firemen were identified as Ajmer, Samunder, Ankit, Vikas, Rinku Yadav and Rakesh. The identities of the others were not immediately available.

“We doused the flames on the ground floor and were heading to the first floor through the staircase when the explosion took place on that floor. All six of us were trapped in the blaze and fell on the stairs because of the impact of the blast. The building was recently renovated. Had it been an old building, it would have collapsed due to the blast and claimed our lives,” said an injured fire officer Ajmer, lying on the hospital bed with burns in his back, face and hands.

The fire department are yet to ascertain the cause of the fire.