PANIC GRIPPED government and police officials after a fire broke out in the anteroom of the State Minister for Finance Shahid Manzoor on the fifth floor of Bapu Bhawan secretariat on Thursday evening. It took over an hour to douse the flames.
Not only the belongings in the anteroom were gutted completely, the inferno also caused damage to minister’s office and the adjacent room of State minister for Programme Implementation Virendra Singh Bundela. Fire service officials were scrutinising details for the reason behind the fire.
Significantly, firefighting equipment installed in the building— one of the vital establishments of the State government — were all lying inoperative for the last four years.
The fire control room at Hazratganj fire station received the call about fire at Bapu Bhawan at 3.55 pm. Not only fire tenders but the senior fire and police officials too rushed to the building.
Not only the fifth floor but the sixth one too was engulfed in thick smoke when the firefighting personnel entered the building. Firemen had to face a major problem to take water pipes to the fifth floor.
Chief Fire officer (CFO) JK Singh said the smoke was first detected emanating out of the anteroom of the state minister Manzoor around 3.45 pm. No sooner the staff present in adjacent rooms spotted flames in the room they started running. The security staff of the building informed the control room.
{{/usCountry}}Chief Fire officer (CFO) JK Singh said the smoke was first detected emanating out of the anteroom of the state minister Manzoor around 3.45 pm. No sooner the staff present in adjacent rooms spotted flames in the room they started running. The security staff of the building informed the control room.
{{/usCountry}}Singh further said that the Photostat machine, furniture, four fans, two telephones and documents in the room were gutted in the fire when the firefighting team reached the place. The intensity of the fire could be gauged from the fact that the ceiling of the room had collapsed and it had also damaged the walls completely.