New Delhi: Manjiri Chaturvedi, a resident of Block C at Gaur Green Avenue society, was out for her walk as usual on Wednesday morning. The peace was shattered by a loud blast that tore through the area.
It took some moments for the people out early to gather what was going on. “Suddenly, we saw fire emitting from one of the floors. At that moment, we could not understand (what was happening). We all ran for cover. Many were in the bathroom, others caught in the kitchen,” Manjiri told ThePrint.
She then took to WhatsApp, alerting all the residents in the neighbourhood. Photographs of the fire were circulated on the resident welfare association (RWA) group so that people could escape.
Soon, many residents took the lift and stairs to escape. “We were aware enough to switch off lights and gas. We made sure there was no trigger from our end to the fire.”
Within a few minutes, society residents began preparing the fire safety equipment to battle the blaze. With the Vaishali fire station barely a few kilometres away, fire trucks arrived in no time at the high-rise in Indirapuram.
Still, the blaze spread through the upper floors of a residential tower ravaging down eight flats in no time. So intense was the fire, the residents said, that it was visible even from the Ghaziabad-Meerut Expressway, which is located at the periphery of the society.
Neighbours and residents said they saw molten glass falling on the ground and AC parts burning. As the panic continued, rooms and stairs in the affected tower were full of black smoke. People screamed in fear and shouted for help, they said.
Meanwhile, fire safety personnel and residents had to deal with narrow lanes, obstructions, low water pressure, and locked houses while trying to douse the fire that escalated quickly.
Many residents took to social media platforms like X and Facebook to share the challenges they faced, especially the fire department not being able to douse the blaze. Videos from the site showed hydraulics positioned far away from the tower, even as the personnel did their best to douse the flames.
Later, the Ghaziabad Chief Fire Officer (CFO) said that there were narrow lanes and obstructions, restricting the positioning of hydraulic systems.
CFO Rahul Kumar told ThePrint that a call was received at 8.50 am. Five fire tenders were pressed into action from the Vaishali fire station, and another 12 others brought in. Two hydraulic platforms of the fire brigade were also deployed, he added.
There were 70 firefighters on ground, along with police, medics, SDRF, firefighters to douse the fire, Kumar said. “The fire began from the 8th, 9th and the 10th floor. It slowly engulfed all the remaining floors. The fire was in Block D of the housing society.”
There were no casualties, according to the fire department. Fire staff said the cause of the fire, prima facie, is suspected to be a short circuit. A lot of inflammable and construction materials were stored on the ninth floor.
A senior police officer from Ghaziabad said the police managed the crowd and helped in evacuating the residents. The police along with the fire department will conduct a detailed inquiry to ascertain the exact cause of fire, the officer added.
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First responders
Dinesh Tyagi, the RWA’s vice-president, said that the in-house maintenance team and security staff was mobilised once the blaze was reported. “They know all the locations where all fire fighting equipment is placed. These staff know how to deploy all the equipment, how it works; we keep training them. We also conduct regular mock drills. So, our staff responded quickly,” he told ThePrint.
In the beginning, only a few tenders arrived, and the fire spread quickly due to the breeze.
“The fire tender that arrived did not have sufficient pressure to reach the higher floors. So then they called for a bigger tender, it came with a ladder. That came a little later. Residents went door to door to help in evacuating, despite dense smoke,” Tyagi said.
Tyagi said that two-three months ago, the RWA upgraded the entire fire fighting system of the society. All pipes and hoses were replaced, and new water motors were installed. The residents shut the water supply to homes and diverted it to fire fighting efforts, he said. .
“The fire service used our water as it was initially unable to reach the affected floors,” Tyagi said.
Residents said that the hydraulic system could not reach the height, as it was a little away from the affected site. Ritesh, a resident of the society, said that initially, there were issues with the movement and coordination, but slowly the fire personnel got hold of the situation.
“The garden towards the front side of the society made it difficult to reach. More tenders arrived from Noida along with cranes. The pressure motors of the fire tenders were only able to push the water till the 7th floor,” he said.
Ritesh said that the residents used the water from the swimming pool using motors and from the neighbouring C Block building.
Limited time, infra issues
CFO Kumar said there were multiple challenges the fire department had to deal with. “There were five-six flats that had double gates, including wooden doors. Our teams worked on breaking them to enter the house. Another issue at hand was balconies covered with PVC sheets, and there was a lot of wooden work being done. At least four-five flats had gates made of iron, this itself was a big challenge,” he said.
Due to the narrow lanes, a park and a swimming pool at the boundary of the apartment complex, he said, it was difficult to figure out the right angle for the hydraulics. The department’s hydraulics reach up to 20 floors, Kumar added.
“With limited time and infra issues, we had to use the society’s fire fighting system. One team worked on rescuing, and breaking gates. The other team was handling the pipe connectivity. The residents also offered a lot of help.”
RWA to assess shortcomings
Vikas Kumar, the society manager, said at least seven-eight fire hydrants belonging to the society were working. The society also has a 40-ft ladder, he added.
Kumar said the RWA conducted regular audits and upgraded the systems. The NOC was completed six months ago. “All pipelines, hydrants, and hose pipes are new. We had enough diesel and all the motors were working at a good pressure..”
The RWA said that they have conducted a survey and prepared a list of all the shortcomings, including the pathway.
“We also came to know about our shortcomings. For example, we could not remove the parked cars in time, to make space for the fire tenders. Our limitation was that we didn’t have enough space to accommodate all the tenders. The place has been built according to the builder’s plan. There should have been a driveway instead of the park that we have. Due to the garden, access to one side was restricted,” Tyagi added.
Last month, a fire occurred in south west Delhi’s Palam in which the fire department had to work through narrow lanes and congested surroundings, making it difficult for large emergency vehicles to navigate.
In a statement, the Uttar Pradesh Police said that information was received that some people were trapped in flats at the Gaur Green Avenue Society.
A total of 17 fire tenders, two hydraulic platforms, and approximately 70 firefighters controlled the fire under challenging conditions and safely rescued several people. Additionally, women, children, and elderly individuals trapped on the upper floors were successfully rescued, it said.
“Due to the swift action and skilled strategy of the Ghaziabad Fire Service, the fire was prevented from spreading to other flats. No loss of life occurred in this entire incident,” the police statement added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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