100 rescued as building catches fire in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar Centre
A major fire broke out in a commercial building in Raj Nagar District Centre, Ghaziabad, on Monday, causing panic and evacuation of around 100 people trapped inside it.
Three people, who felt uneasiness after being rescued, were sent to the district hospital and released after being treated.
No casualties were reported in the incident.
Rahul Pal, chief fire officer (CFO), said that information about a fire at Aditya Commercial Building was received at the Kotwali fire station at 3.13pm. One fire tender on court duty and three from the station were dispatched to the scene with immediate effect.
“Officials saw the fire burning in the electric shaft of the eight-floor building from the second to the top floor. They immediately began extinguishing it, and called for backup, after which three fire tenders and a hydraulic platform from the Vaishali fire station and one fire tender from the Sahibabad fire station arrived,” the CFO said.
Rahul Kumar, a local, said he saw around 80 people trapped on the upper floors. Some of them tried to jump from the window but were seen backing off because it was too high, he said. Some were seen trying to escape by climbing down from the windows to AC vents. They were rescued by the fire department using fire ladders.
Md Shoaib, who works in the building, said that there was smoke everywhere in the building. After the fire broke out, everyone rushed to the stairs as the lifts were closed. Soon after, the smoke filled the staircase as well, causing panic and a stampede-like situation, with people pushing each other to get their way out of the building, he said.
“It was the darkest few minutes of my life. I thought I would not survive. I even thought about exiting the building by jumping from the window, but I was scared. I was reminded of the recent video of a fire incident in Sector 18, where several people jumped out of windows to save their lives but received severe injuries,” he said.
The CFO said that four teams were formed at the spot—two for rescuing the trapped and two for dousing the flames.
“We safely evacuated everyone using fire ladders on three sides of the building and the staircase inside. The fire unit, equipped with breathing apparatus, extinguished the fire. It took around one-and-a-half hours to control the situation.”
Initial investigation revealed that the fire took place in the electrical shaft of the building due to a short circuit, Pal said, adding that the investigation also revealed that the building didn’t have the fire NOC for the last two years.
“In 2023, we sent a report to the court to act against this, but to no avail. We also found that the fire equipment installed in the building was not working,” CFO Pal said.
“Soon, we will write a letter to the electricity department to disconnect the power supply of the building and a letter will be sent to GDA to seal the building,” the CFO added.
