Vehicles, shops gutted in two fire incidents in Delhi

The first incident happened around 1.30am at an MCD parking lot, and the second happened in near Fatehpuri Mosque in Chandni Chowk around 3am

Two major fires were reported in the Capital on Wednesday, the Delhi Fire Services said, adding that 17 vehicles and four shops were damaged in the two separate incidents. The fire department said that no casualties were reported.

Vehicles engulfed in flames at the parking lot on Tuesday night. (PTI)

According to fire officials, the first incident happened around 1.30am at the parking lot operated by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in Mandawali in east Delhi where at least 17 parked cars were damaged after they caught fire one after the other.

A total of eight fire tenders were rushed to douse the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other vehicles in the parking lot adjacent to National Highway 24. The firefighters brought the blaze under control nearly two hours after it broke out, the fire department said.

A police officer aware of the incident said that a case of negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter and act endangering the life or personal safety of others was registered under sections 285 and 336 of the Indian Penal Code at the Madhu Vihar police station against unknown people.

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“We saw the footage of CCTV cameras installed at the parking lot managed by a private contractor. It suggested that the fire originated from the drain in the rear portion of the parking lot. Prime facie, it appears that the dry leaves and waste material in the drain caught fire and the flames engulfed the cars parked nearby. We are not ruling out the possibility of mischief by someone who may have thrown a burning cigarette in the drain,” said the officer, asking not to be named.

MCD, in a statement, said that its parking staff immediately informed the fire department. “On inspection... it was observed that 17 cars were affected due to the fire... prima facie it appeared that some passerby may have thrown bud of burning cigarette/bidi into the dry drain which caused fire in the dry leaves and foliage of the drain. Due to scorching heat, the fire reached the boundary of the parking site. The parking staff immediately called the Delhi Fire Services...,” the statement said.

The parking lot spread across a large open space has been operational for the last nine years. It is used by residents living in the nearby East and West Vinod Nagar, Mandawali and Joshi Colony areas, who pay monthly or daily rents, and accommodates around 500 cars, said a parking attendant, who asked not to be named.

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“Five attendants were present at the time when the fire broke out. The fire tenders arrived nearly 10 minutes after their control room was informed. By the time they arrived, 16 vehicles were damaged and some of them were gutted. More vehicles could have been damaged if there had been a delay,” the attendant added.

Four shops gutted

In the second incident, four shops were gutted when a fire broke out near Fatehpuri Mosque in Chandni Chowk in north Delhi around 3am. Eight fire tenders worked for almost two hours to control the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other shops in the local market, fire department officials said on Wednesday.

The office of a courier agency and a photo frame molding shop were among the four shops that were damaged in the fire, the officials said, adding that a short-circuit appeared to be the cause of the fire.