Inquiry into fire at Gzb high-rise still on, cause yet to be established

On Tuesday, officials said that the inquiry by a committee set up by the district magistrate (DM) Ravinder Kumar Mandar is already underway

Ghaziabad: Nearly a week after a major fire gutted eight flats and caused extensive damage to four to six other flats located from eighth to 13th floor at the Gaur Green Avenue on April 29, an inquiry committee has yet to find the cause of the fire and the issues faced during the firefighting process.

Vivek Mishra, secretary of Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and the officer heading the committee constituted by the DM, told HT on Tuesday that a report by the committee is getting compiled “and it will be ready in the next two days”. (HT Photo)

On Tuesday, officials said that the inquiry by a committee set up by the district magistrate (DM) Ravinder Kumar Mandar is already underway.

Vivek Mishra, secretary of Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and the officer heading the committee constituted by the DM, told HT on Tuesday that a report by the committee is getting compiled “and it will be ready in the next two days”.

Chief fire officer (CFO) Rahul Pal said that the fire department has sent a communication to the Gaur Green Avenue RWA and sought a response on several issues. “These relate to the fire NOC, its renewal, quality, and systems installed at the high-rise, and whether the (additional) constructions, like the park and religious structure, were approved by the Ghaziabad development authority. We sought an immediate response. If there is a delay or lack of response, the matter will be referred to the DM,” he told HT.

The probe committee has already visited the high-rise and the incident site where, as per officials, the fire started from the ninth-floor flat.

“However, we have yet to ascertain the cause of the fire in the ninth-floor flat. Thinner, paint, and other materials were kept in the flat. How the fire started is still undetermined. The flat was unoccupied, and finishing work was underway. Therefore, we asked the police through the DM to scan the CCTV footage from the day of the incident,” the CFO added.

Additional district magistrate (ADM) Saurabh Bhatt, who is also a member of the committee, told HT that GDA is also checking documents to see if the construction at the high-rise was as per the approved plan.

“It is established that the fire started from the ninth-floor flat. But there is no involvement of short-circuit that has emerged so far. So, we have asked the local police to get the CCTVs checked up. The fire started around 8.15am and the first call that went to the fire department was made by one passerby around 8.48am. We called up the caller, and he confirmed that he was passing by and called the fire department after seeing the blaze. An inquiry report will be compiled soon, and some constructions will also be removed from the high-rise after a report is submitted,” the ADM added.

Meanwhile, the RWA members of the high-rise said that they will aid the committee and even the police during the inquiry process. “We will aid police if they wish to see the CCTV footage, and we will also ask officials to get a forensic audit done to know the exact cause of the fire at the ninth-floor flat. The findings of the committee are awaited, and we will carry out their recommendations,” Ritesh Satia, secretary of the RWA, told HT.