Ghaziabad: Fire engulfed four flats of a
Ghaziabad
society at Ahimsa Khand-2 on Saturday and damaged the front facade of the 5-storey building following an explosion in a diesel generator and a series of small blasts in four fuel drums stored nearby.
Dramatic photos of thick columns of smoke billowing from Arihant Harmony - one that could be seen from kilometres away - surfaced on social media soon after the incident.
Three engines were rushed in to battle the flames from Vaishali fire station, with the first crew arriving within 5 minutes after the fire broke out just after noon. Teams were also called in from Sahibabad fire station.
Chief fire officer Rahul Pal told TOI that four flats facing the generator shed were gutted in the blaze - a thick layer of soot covered damaged furniture and walls - while some developed deep cracks. In a few of the rooms, concrete chunks had come off the walls, possibly due to the heat.
Firemen, the official said, had to break open two of the flats on the first and second floors as their owners were away. The residents of the two other flats and neighbouring units had evacuated on their own soon after the fire broke out. According to officials, the fuel drums stored just outside the generator shed caught fire one after the other after the generator exploded, possibly due to a snag or overheating, and the blaze spread rapidly to the flats in Vista-2 tower next to it, Pal said.
The society's AOA president Alok Kumar said the fire broke out around 12.20 pm. "The IGL pipeline was damaged in the fire. At present, we have made arrangements to relocate the families affected by the fire to other vacant units of the society. We will also audit the structural integrity of the two towers of the society soon," he said.
Brijesh Pathak, 55, a resident of a third-floor flat that was gutted, said all their electrical equipment, including refrigerators and air-conditioners, were damaged. "Deep cracks have developed on the walls of my house," he said.
Pathak, who was at work when the fire broke out, said his wife switched off the main power connection of the flat and rushed out after the fire spread to their flat. He blamed the society's maintenance agency for the large-scale damage. "For a society with around 152 flats, three generators have been installed instead of two. Fire audits have been delayed by three years," he said.
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