Fire in Ghaziabad school, no one hurt

Nearly 200 students and teachers from KDB Public School in Kavi Nagar, Ghaziabad, survived a major scare as a fire broke out inside the school auditorium on Monday morning. The timely response of the school staff and the fire department made sure that the fire did not escalate.

Nearly 200 students and teachers from KDB Public School in Kavi Nagar, Ghaziabad, survived a major scare as a fire broke out inside the school auditorium on Monday morning. The timely response of the school staff and the fire department made sure that the fire did not escalate.

Officials from the fire department douse the fire in the school auditorium on Monday. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The incident took place around 11 am when nearly 200 students were practicing inside the school auditorium while others were present as part of a summer camp being conducted.

“We were present inside the auditorium when we smelled something burning. We soon realised it was a short circuit. We quietly asked the teachers to bring the students from the exit staircase. This avoided any panic situation and all of us arrived on the ground floor in open area. Meantime, a call was also made to the fire department,” said Nivedita Rana, school principal.

“Even before the firemen could arrive, our staff disrupted the electricity supply and used fire extinguishers to douse the fire. We also used buckets to pour water,” she said.

The fire department roped in a fire tender which arrived from Ghanta Ghar Kotwali.

“The safety of students and staff was our immediate priority. The fire was completely doused by the firemen and no injuries were reported. Some of the equipment inside the auditorium was damaged because of the fire. The apparent cause of the fire could be a short circuit,” said Ram Kishor Yadav, fire safety officer at Ghanta Ghar fire station.

Recently, five young men, all staff with e-commerce company Indiamart, died during a fire incident in their office building, which had no proper fire fighting arrangements. Several FIRs were lodged against the building owner and officials of Indiamart.