Fire at Farrukhnagar branch of bank; property worth ₹35 lakh damaged

A fire broke out at a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Farrukhnagar on Monday morning, although no persons were reportedly injured in the mishap, said officials

A fire broke out at a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Farrukhnagar on Monday morning, although no persons were reportedly injured in the mishap, said officials of the fire department. The furniture on the ground floor of the branch was completely gutted. In their statement to the police, the bank authorities reported a loss of nearly ₹35 lakh to the property. According to the officials, a short circuit is suspected to be the cause of fire.

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The incident was reported to the fire control room at 6.07am, following which three fire tenders — two from Sector 37 fire station and one from Pataudi — were pressed into service.

Sunil Adlakha, fire safety officer, Bhim Nagar fire station, said, that the fire tenders reached the spot within half an hour and the fire was brought under control in over two hours. A cooling process was initiated around 8.30am.

A fire department official, who was at the spot, requesting anonymity, said, “The fire was controlled before it could spread to the upper floors of the building. On the ground floor, all the furniture, cash counters, computers, electrical wiring and files were completely charred. However, the strong room did not sustain any damage. A short circuit is suspected to be the cause of the fire.”

Subhash Chand, the manager of the Farrukhnagar SBI branch, said that two security guards, who were deputed outside the bank’s ATM noticed smoke billowing out of the premises and called him at around 6am. “I rushed to the bank and opened the shutters and the windows to let the smoke out. It took half an hour for the fire tenders to reach the spot and, by that time, the fire had totally engulfed the ground floor. The strong room of the bank, where the lockers, cash cabin and loan documents are kept, did not sustain any damage and we have communicated the same to our account holders. Property worth nearly ₹35 lakh has been damaged,” said Chand.

A team of police personnel from Farrukhnagar police station had also reached the spot. Satyawan, assistant sub- inspector (ASI), who is the investigating official, Farrukhnagar police station, said, “We received information of the incident from the police control room and immediately alerted the fire department. No persons have been injured. The branch manager has stated in a written statement that a short circuit probably led to the fire. There is no complaint against any party.”