Ghaziabad: Two killed in fire at 5-storey building in Ghaziabad

A fire in a Ghaziabad building killed a couple and injured 22 others. The blaze trapped about 150 residents, with smoke inhalation causing the fatalities.

Ghaziabad: A 45-year-old man and his 42-year-old wife died in a fire at a five-storeyed residential building in Ghaziabad’s Khoda late Tuesday night, officials said on Thursday, adding that 22 people got injured during the incident.

Officials said that the 10 tenders were called from Vaishali, Sahibabad and Kotwali fire stations in Ghaziabad and Noida (Photo for representation)

Fire department officials received a call around 11:47 p.m. on Tuesday, following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the building, near the Birbal Chowki in Khoda.

“The building has around 45 flats. The fire engulfed an electrical panel on the ground floor and the staircase, leaving about 150 people trapped. Several vehicles were parked nearby. We used ladders to rescue them from the front and back of the building. The operation went on till 3 a.m. on Wednesday,” Rahul Pal, chief fire officer, told HT.

The deceased were identified as Rajendra Kumar, 45, and his wife Meena Devi, 42, who succumbed during treatment at two different hospitals in Delhi.

“The couple died due to smoke inhalation. The exact cause of death will be known after the autopsy reports. Majority of the patients (about 90%) were discharged and the rest are stable; however, some of them are suffering from health complications due to the thick smoke. A short-circuit in the lift’s electrical panel might have caused the fire,” Abhishek Srivastava, ACP of Indirapuram circle told HT.

Officials said the fire remained confined to the staircase on the ground and first floor, while thick smoke engulfed the entire building.

“We doused the fire within an hour. We searched every room to find the survivors. Some of the doors had to be broken as they were locked. Some had also locked the main doors of their flats,” the CFO added.

Officials said that the 10 tenders were called from Vaishali, Sahibabad and Kotwali fire stations in Ghaziabad and Noida.