Fire at Dwarka DU exam centre

Fire officials said that the fire may have been sparked by a short-circuit in an electric metre on the ground floor and was contained within half an hour with the help of five fire tenders.

A fire in a building in Dwarka’s Kakrola village sparked panic among 40 staff members and 260 candidates who were appearing for a Delhi University (DU) online exam there on Sunday afternoon.

People outside the centre on Sunday. (HT Photo)

Fire officials said that the fire may have been sparked by a short-circuit in an electric metre on the ground floor and was contained within half an hour with the help of five fire tenders. The candidates and staff of the centre had already vacated the three-storey building when fire fighters arrived and no one was injured in the incident.

DU officials said that the exam was for certain undergraduate courses, which was later held smoothly at the centre.

Chief fire officer, Atul Garg said they had received a call at their control room reporting the fire in a building at Old Palam Road in Kakrola Village around 11.30 am. “Since the fire was on the ground floor of a three storey building with students and staff inside, we rushed five fire tenders without delay,” he said. “Some online exam was being conducted at the centre when the fire started. When our staff arrived at the centre, we found there were 40 staff members and 260 students had been in the building when the fire broke out. The students and staff had already vacated the building by the time fire fighters arrived. The fire was controlled by noon. No one suffered any injury in the incident,” he said.

Garg said, it seemed like a short-circuit in the electric metre led to the fire. It is not clear if the building had a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Delhi Fire Services department. “Since the building had less than four floors, it was a low rise building and therefore is not covered under the present Fire Act,” Garg said.

Last month, Delhi Fire Services had launched an inspection of coaching institutes in the capital to prevent a re-run of Surat-like fire tragedy in the capital.