Fire breaks out at Ghaziabad boys’ shelter, none injured

All the boys were out of the complex and the rooms were empty at the time of the incident

In yet another incident of fire at an institution, the fire department officials on Wednesday rushed to Asha Niketan Boys’ Home, a shelter run by Ashadeep Foundation, at Shaheed Nagar in Sahibabad. The officials said they received a call around 5pm and rushed the fire tenders there.

Bedrolls kept in one of the boys’ rooms at Asha Niketan Boys’ Home in Sahibabad caught fire. (HT Photo)

According to officials of the shelter home, the fire started in one of the boys’ rooms on the first floor of the building on Wednesday afternoon. They immediately alerted the police and the fire department.

“Fortunately, all the boys in the complex had gone out to play and there was no one in the rooms. The fire officials and the police immediately reached to the spot and doused the flames, which started in some bedrolls. The entire building was filled with smoke and caused respiratory problems for the staff,” said Jothi Chetty, secretary and chief executive of Ashadeep Foundation.

“The bedrolls were on fire and we doused it. Since the fire spread gradually, it filled the entire building with smoke. The fire alert was received at 5pm and our personnel reached the spot immediately. It was lucky that there was no casualty in the incident,” said Abul Abbas, fire safety officer, Sahibabad.

The incident comes a day after a school bus ferrying children caught fire in Indirapuram. As many as 17 students, from class 1 to 8, had a lucky escape as the vehicle was gutted.

The same day, a fire also broke out at a playschool in Vasundhara and nearly 50 minors were rescued by the school staff.

On April 28, nearly 90 specially abled students of a rehabilitation centre in Ghaziabad’s Indirpauram had a narrow escape thanks to the timely action by fire officials after a blaze broke out at an electrical panel of the building on Friday noon.