A high-rise building in Gurugram in Haryana caught fire on Tuesday, April 21. The building located on Golf Course Road had caught fire around noon on the 11th and third floor.
The Twin Tower is a commercial building and is owned by the Paras Group. The fire brigade was called in to douse the fire and an official later gave his statement about how it must have happened.
Sunil Adlakha, fire office of Gurugram, said that the fire first broke out in the UPS room and later spread to the other parts. The reason for the fire is supposedly a short circuit that might have happened in the UPS room of the tower.
"Four fire tenders and a hydraulic machine were deployed. It took around 2 hours to douse the flame," Adlakha said. No injuries were reported in the incident.
In a similar incident, a fire broke out at a plastic manufacturing plant in Industrial Model Town in Manesar few months back. The fire was brought under control in one-and-a-half-hours and no injuries were reported in the incident. The guard at the gate had seen the fire and had immediately informed the fire department and the police.
A large quantity of plastic products was gutted in the fire.
It should be noted that there are several high rise buildings in Gurugram measuring 175 metres and up but the Gurugram fire department seems ill-equipped to deal with any major tragedy as it has just a single hydraulic lift, measuring just 42 metres; 30-odd fire tenders and a staff strength of 200, including some outsourced.
This poses some serious concerns as these buildings are built after they receive a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Gurugram Fire Department.
Seeing the last year's scenario, in December 2019, the department had 46 regular staff members, including 15 leading firemen, eight firemen and 12 drivers. It also had 159 outsourced staff members, including 92 firemen, 54 drivers and one fire consultant.
The problem is that if the top floor of a 100 meters building catches fire, how will the department deal with it. Department's officials were quoted as saying that in case such a situation arises, they ask help from private builders and deal with the situation.
