42 fires reported in Gurugram on Diwali, one dead in truck blaze

Of the 42 incidents, 15 were reported under the jurisdiction of the Sector 29 fire station, 10 each under Bhim Nagar and Sector 37, four under Udyog Vihar, two under Pataudi and one under Sohna

At least 42 fires were reported across Gurugram during Diwali celebrations on Sunday, leaving a 37-year-old truck driver dead, fire department officials said.

Firefighters try to control a blaze at a hardware shop on Khandsa Road on Sunday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Officials said most incidents were caused by firecrackers in residential areas and markets, while others involved burning waste and scrap material.

Of the 42 incidents, 15 were reported under the jurisdiction of the Sector 29 fire station, 10 each under Bhim Nagar and Sector 37, four under Udyog Vihar, two under Pataudi and one under Sohna.

Pawan Singh, 37, a truck driver from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was burned to death after his vehicle, parked at a facility in Khentawas village in Farrukhnagar, caught fire on Sunday night.

Officials said Singh was reportedly consuming alcohol inside the truck when the fire broke out and spread rapidly, trapping him inside. Police have launched an investigation and shifted his body to a mortuary in Gurugram. The cause of the fire was yet to be established.

A fire official from the Sector 37 fire station said at least 10 fire tenders were deployed, and the blaze was brought under control by 10pm. “The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. No casualties were reported,” the official said.

At Ansal Esencia condominium in Sector 67, a firecracker allegedly struck a green safety net installed on the second-floor balcony of a residential building around 10pm, triggering a blaze that spread to the third floor and damaged the balcony of an adjoining building.

Residents’ welfare association president Jatin Rao said four to five fire tenders were deployed and firefighters reached the spot around 10.20pm.

“The fire spread up to the third floor, and the balcony of an adjoining building was also affected. The house owner was not home at the time. The two floors were completely gutted,” Rao said. No casualties were reported.

At Orchid Crescent in DLF Phase 4, a fire broke out in an electrical panel on the ground floor of a house around 8.52pm. Two fire tenders rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze within 10 minutes. No injuries were reported.

Other incidents included fires at a shop opposite Krishna Palace in Nai Basti, a bicycle shop in Rajiv Nagar, Sector 13, and a scrap shop in Arjun Nagar. Officials said several bicycles and other goods were damaged in Rajiv Nagar, while stored waste and plastic materials caused the flames to spread rapidly at the scrap shop.

Narendra Yadav, senior fire safety officer at the Sector 29 fire station, said firecrackers were responsible for most incidents, while burning waste and scrap material caused others.