40 rescued from building where fire broke out

A major tragedy was averted after 40 people were rescued from a building in east Delhi when a fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday, an official said.

Plastic waste materials were stored on the ground floor of the four-storey building in Krishna Nagar area, while people lived on the the upper floors and it had only a single staircase, Delhi Fire Services director Atul Garg said. Five fire tenders were rushed to the spot after receiving a call at 2.10 am about the blaze. All the residents went to the terrace as the fire broke out and, therefore, the rescue operation were easy as compared to other such incidents, the official said.

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Forty people were rescued from the building and the fire was doused by 4 am, the official said.After reaching the spot, the fire-fighters noticed that the ground floor was completely filled with scraps. While some of them were packed in gunny bags, other plastic waste materials occupied the rest of the space. There was only one staircase for entry and exit, a fire official said.

"We heard people screaming for help from the terrace. We immediately split our personnel into two teams. While one team was trying to control the fire, the other team rushed to the upper floors to rescue those trapped inside the building," said Santosh Kumar, Station Officer of Delhi Fire Services Mandwali unit.

The fire started from the scrap situated on the ground floor of the building while the smoke engulfed to the upper floors.  On sensing smoke, those sleeping on the upper floors rushed to the terrace while others were rescued from the first and second floors of the building, he said.

"Since none of the doors of the rooms or the terrace were locked, we managed to quickly rush to the upper floors and rescue 40 people including women and children trapped inside the building," Santosh added. 

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